Ohio man and woman sentenced for roles in prostitution ring with ties to Raleigh

A man and women from Ohio were sentenced to more than two years in prison for their roles in a prostitution ring that ended up operating in Raleigh, according to a news release.

Police say Daniel Phillip Griffin, 41, was the leader of an interstate prostitution ring. They say Griffin and Starlett Lehti, 41, both from Cleveland recruited three women in the Ohio city for the purpose of prostituting them, according to a release from the United States Attorney of the Eastern District of North Carolina stated.

They took the women to several states, ending up in Raleigh, the release said. Griffin and Lehti manipulated the women, the release said. Griffin misled them into believing their relationship was romantic, and he and Lehti promised them money and belonging to a “family,” according to the release.

But Griffin took all the women’s earnings, the release said. He threatened the women, some of whom called the police in attempts to escape, the release said.

Griffin and Lehti were arrested January 2019 at the Days Inn by Wyndham, just outside the Raleigh Beltline on Wake Forest Road, according to the City/County Bureau of Identification.

Chief Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced Griffin on Monday to two and a half years in prison after he pleaded guilty to one count of transporting a victim interstate to prostitute her.

Lehti previously was sentenced to two years and one month in prison, also for transporting a victim interstate to prostitute her, the release said.

Each were sentenced to five years of supervised release and were ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution.

“Daniel Griffin and Starlett Lehti exploited some of our most vulnerable citizens for their greed,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr. in the release. “They falsely promised victims the good life; in reality, they did not care what emotional scars they left in their wake.”

Since 2016, the Raleigh Police Department reports at least three human trafficking incidents in the 3200 block of Wake Forest Road, according to the police incident reporting database.

As of August, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina has prosecuted 13 human trafficking-related cases involving 16 defendants since 2017. Nine of those cases have resulted in convictions, Higdon said in a press conference in August.

National Human Trafficking Hotline statistics show North Carolina had 266 human trafficking cases in 2019, the 11th highest number of reported cases in the country. California had the highest number of cases with 1,507 while Texas had the second highest in the country with 1,080 cases.

Individuals who are the victims of human trafficking or believe they have information about human trafficking activity may call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 or send a text message to BeFree (233733).

This story was originally published November 23, 2020 at 8:44 PM.