N.Y. man charged with prostituting woman with HIV in Scranton area

Dec. 8—A New York man made a Mississippi woman prostitute herself in the Scranton area for more than a week and beat her if she felt reluctant to meet with a man, city police charged.

Keshon Michael Bailey, 27, of 250 Bradley Boulevard, Schenectady, made the victim have sex with 20 men in the last 10 or so days, even though he knew she has HIV, Officers James Petrucci and Kyle Gilmartin of the city's Street Crimes Unit alleged in a criminal complaint.

The officers came across Bailey while investigating prostitution in the area Tuesday. They contacted a phone number found in an advertisement on a website commonly used for prostitution.

Petrucci spoke with a woman over the phone and they agreed to meet in the city's downtown. A woman arrived and a man she was with moved into the driver's seat of her vehicle.

Gilmartin became suspicious she was the victim of sex trafficking.

"It is not common for women to arrive at pre-arranged 'dates' with a male if they are operating independently," the police wrote in an affidavit.

As the officers spoke with her, the victim disclosed Bailey controlled her and prostituted her for about $150 a sex act. He beat her if she refused and took money out of her purse until she acquiesced to his demands, she told officers.

Bailey smelled of alcohol and told the investigators they were in the area to pick up food. Once the police explained the nature of the investigation, Bailey asked the police to let the victim go and arrest him.

The police have not charged the woman with a crime, according to court filings.

Bailey is jailed at the Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $200,00 bail. He faces a preliminary hearing Dec. 20 on a charge of trafficking of individuals and several counts of promoting prostitution.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.