Man accused of sexual assault, forcing Canadian tourist into prostitution

By Dave Toplikar

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011 | 2:52 p.m.

A man accused of sexually assaulting a Canadian tourist and forcing her to work for him for three nights as a prostitute in the Las Vegas area will face multiple felony charges in Clark County District Court.

Following his preliminary hearing Wednesday, Charles A. Ford, 49, also known as David Brown, was bound over on the charges by Justice of the Peace Diana Sullivan.

Ford will be arraigned in district court at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 22 before Judge Douglas E. Smith.

Sullivan set his bail at $140,000. He is being held in the Clark County Detention Center.

He is charged with one count of pandering, one count of living from the earnings of a prostitute and seven counts of sexual assault.

The woman, who is from Alberta, Canada, testified Wednesday that she had come to the United States to get away while she was on a grievance leave from her job after her adult daughter had died.

"I had never left Canada before," she said.

The woman, who had two other adult children, testified that she had first driven to Washington state on Dec. 24, then drove to Los Angeles and was there on New Year's Eve.

She said that sometime during the early morning hours of Jan. 1, she physically bumped into a woman on Sunset Boulevard named "Annette." The two struck up a conversation and then the Canadian woman left and went to a Starbucks.

The Canadian woman said she then saw "Annette" later that same morning on the street again. She said Annette told her that she needed to get back to Las Vegas for a meeting with a parole officer that she couldn't miss.

She said Annette asked her for a ride to Las Vegas, promising the Canadian woman she would be reimbursed for gasoline when they arrived in Las Vegas. Under cross-examination, the Canadian woman said she realized "Annette" was a prostitute, but also thought she seemed "like a nice lady." And she said she also thought it would be good to see the sights in Las Vegas.

When they arrived in Las Vegas, they went to meet Annette's boyfriend, "T." "T" then introduced her to his brother, "Charlie," the Canadian woman said.

The woman pointed to Ford in the courtroom as being the man she knew as "Charlie."

The woman said the others asked her if she would get a room for them in the Travelodge, 5075 Koval Lane, because they didn't have proper identification.

The woman said Annette and T left briefly and while they were gone, Ford asked to see her driver's license. He then began writing down the information about her, she said.

"I asked him 'What the hell?" she said. Then T can back to the room and told her that "he was giving me to Charlie," she said.

The woman said Ford told her that she was going to be a prostitute for him. She testified that she refused and he told her that if she didn't cooperate, her adult children would "bear the consequences."

"I was petrified," she said.

The Canadian woman said she and Annette went to a truck stop and Annette would walk up to different trucks and offer their services. She said that she made $1,700 that night and when they returned to the room, Ford made her give him the money.

The Canadian woman said she went to sleep and she was awakened by Ford making sexual contact with her with his fingers and pushed him away.

Later that day, she said, she and Ford got a separate room and then he forced her into various sexual acts, despite her objections.

"I was praying it would stop," she said.

That night, Jan. 3, Annette drove the Canadian woman's car to a different truck stop and a casino, where she was forced to work as a prostitute again. She said she made $800 and had to give it to Ford when they returned to the Travelodge.

She said Ford then sexually assaulted her again. After that she went to sleep.

She said on Jan. 4, she was told that she would be going to the Las Vegas Strip alone to be a prostitute, but that she would be watched. But before she left Ford sexually assaulted her multiple times, she said.

She said Ford gave her directions on how to get to the Las Vegas Strip. The Canadian woman said she drove to the Excalibur Hotel and Casino, then went to the Luxor. There she met a Canadian man and went up to his room and had sex with him, but decided not to charge him any money.

The woman said she then walked over to Hooters Casino Hotel and saw a man dressed in what she thought was a police uniform and told him what had been happening to her. She said the man was not an officer, but was with the Taxicab Authority. However he took her inside and Metro Police were contacted.

Police arrived at the Travelodge and found Ford’s friend leaving another motel room and took him into custody. Police said he then identified Ford, who was arrested.

After obtaining a search warrant, police found the alleged victim’s cell phone, car keys and personal belongings. A medical exam found bruising indicative of sexual assault.