Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Additional Charges Include Involuntary Servitude, Money Laundering

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul charged a Belvidere, Illinois man and a Shannon, Illinois woman who worked together to traffic three young adult victims in and around the Rockford area.

“It is truly heinous that anyone would abuse the trust of young people to instead force them into sex work,” Raoul said. “I commend our law enforcement partners for their hard work during the investigation to ensure we can help the victims receive the justice they need to begin to heal from the horrific trauma they experienced.”

The Attorney General’s office charged Timothy Bennett, 39, with six counts of involuntary servitude and one count of money laundering, Class X felonies punishable by up to 30 years in prison; 12 counts of trafficking in persons and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, Class 1 felonies punishable by up to 15 years in prison; two counts of money laundering, Class 2 felonies punishable by up to seven years in prison; two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering, Class 3 felonies punishable by up to five years in prison; and six counts of involuntary servitude and three counts of promoting prostitution, Class 4 felonies punishable by up to three years in prison. Bennett is currently detained at the Winnebago County Jail. His next court date is March 19.

Crystal Houston, 40, was also charged with three counts of involuntary servitude and one count of money laundering, Class X felonies; six counts of trafficking in persons and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, Class 1 felonies; two counts of money laundering, Class 2 felonies; two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering; and three counts of involuntary servitude, Class 4 felonies. Houston is incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections for a separate case. Her next court date for her most recent charges is April 8 in the Winnebago County Circuit Court.

Sentences are ultimately determined by the court.

The Winnebago County Sheriffs office, Rockford Police Department and the Freeport Police Department assisted Raoul’s office with the investigation.

Houston met Bennett in 2019 while he was incarcerated at the Winnebago County Jail for a previous and unrelated case. Raoul’s office alleges that from May 2019 to May 2023, the two worked together to groom three young adult victims who all lived with Houston and then forced them into prostitution using threats of physical violence. Approximately $30,000 in profits were then laundered through the Winnebago County Jail commissary.

The public is reminded that the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Deputy Bureau Chief Megan McGuire Bachman and Assistant Attorneys General Kiran Gupta and Judy Shammo are prosecuting the case for Raoul’s Criminal Prosecution Bureau.