Crime & Safety

Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Human Trafficking in Howard County

The man was previously convicted to similar charges in 1981 and 1994.


An Ohio man pleaded guilty to human trafficking and prostitution charges Tuesday morning at Howard County Circuit Court after a woman detailed his prostitution scheme to Howard County detectives in June of 2013.

Howard Draper, 57, of Toledo, Ohio, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his involvement in the scheme.

Detectives arrested Draper after Anne Arundel County Police received a phone call from a man in Ohio who said he was concerned his girlfriend was being trafficked in the Jessup and Laurel area, according to Wayne Kirwan, a spokesperson for the Howard County state's attorney's office.

Police located the woman using an online escort ad and contacted her at the Extended Stay America where she told them about Draper's prostitution scheme, Kirwan said.

Draper had previously been convicted in 1981 of interstate transportation of minors and in 1994 in a federal case for kidnapping related to prostitution, according to assistant state's attorney Colleen McGuinn.

Judge Richard S. Bernhardt cited Draper's previous involvement in human trafficking as a reason for sentencing him to the maximum 10 years in prions. An additional two years was added on for receiving the earnings of a prostitute, according to Kirwan.

Related Articles

Watson Proposes Human Trafficking Task Force



Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.