By Associated Press - Thursday, February 9, 2017

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A woman has pleading guilty to federal sex trafficking charges, just as opening arguments in her trial were about to begin.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (https://bit.ly/2lsi98C ) reports that 30-year-old Keisha Edwards pleaded guilty Wednesday to two prostitution-related charges and admitted using social media and websites to advertise a woman for sex. Five other charges were dropped.

The co-defendant, Thomas Szczerba, is facing trial.



Prosecutors say the couple befriended the victim in 2015 in Houston and began grooming her to work as a prostitute. In July 2015 in St. Louis, the victim called 911. Edwards and Szczerba were arrested that day.

Szczerba’s attorney, Justin Gelfand, said in an opening statement that his client was not a pimp but traveled to play poker in casinos.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, https://www.stltoday.com

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