Man charged in sex trafficking scheme with underage girls

HELENA, Mont. (AP) _ Authorities say a man brought two women and three teenage girls into a sex trafficking scheme and had one of the women drive him to court for a probation hearing for a prior prostitution conviction.

Terrance Tyrell Edwards has been charged with sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion after he was arrested last week at a Billings hotel.

A sworn statement by Missoula police detective Guy Baker says Edwards arranged for one woman to meet men for money in Billings, Missoula and Salt Lake City.

Baker says Edwards brought in another woman from Washington state. Two days before he was arrested, he picked up three girls, ages 15, 16 and 17, in Fargo, North Dakota, and brought them to Billings.

Edwards is scheduled to make an initial court appearance Monday.