Fed Charge Couple With Pimping Out Teens In San Jose, South Francisco Hotels

A Sacramento couple faces federal charges of using money, drugs and violence to keep control of four prostituted teens who they forced to work out of hotels in South San Francisco and San Jose. Mike and Helen Singh began by offering the girls a 50 percent share of the $100 per hour men paid for sex with them as well as food, shelter and a supply of drugs including methamphetamine, according to a federal court affidavit filed by the FBI. But the girls received none of the cash, were forced to stay and some were beaten. One of the girls was a 16-year-old runaway with a criminal record. Another had her mother's permission to be with the Singhs, though the parent told police she had no idea her daughter was a prostitute. A third teen, who was 18, allegedly had her jaw broken by Mike Singh for not managing the other girls well. According to court records, Mike Singh is charged with sex trafficking of children by force, and his wife Helen is accused of conspiring to help him.