Man allegedly forced women to join a prostitution ring in Florida

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. (WPEC) — A man has been accused of running a brothel in Palm Beach County and forcing women to work there.

On Friday, September 20, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO) arrested 73-year-old Manuel Linares on charges of labor trafficking, sex trafficking, living off the proceeds of prostitution, and operating a prostitution structure.

CBS12 News received exclusive video from neighbors showing a search warrant being executed at a home on Clinton Boulevard in the Lake Worth suburb of Los Angeles on Friday afternoon. Border Patrol agents and the PBSO SWAT unit were on the scene. At least three women were escorted out of the home.

“It's absolutely crazy. You hear about it on the news and see it everywhere else. You never think it could happen literally ten feet away from you,” neighbor Miguel Ocasio told CBS12 News on Monday.

The arrest was made after two victims came forward.

One victim, who said she was from the Dominican Republic, told investigators she was living in Connecticut and working at a restaurant when a friend told her about a job offer at a spa in Florida, according to the probable cause affidavit against Linares.

The woman accepted this offer and upon her arrival in Florida, she met with a woman who had given her the address of the “spa.” The victim stated that upon her arrival at the address given to her, she saw a man who allegedly worked with the Linares.

She had asked him where the spa was because she didn't see any massage tables. The report says he told her everything would be done at home and told her, “You're here to fuck.”

When the victim told him she did not want to prostitute herself, the man allegedly threatened to call the police. The victim felt stranded, with no money and no way out, and said she felt forced to work at the brothel.

PBSO stated that in September 2023 they began an investigation into two men they believed were operating a brothel. The investigation was closed when the alleged brothel was closed.

On May 23, a confidential informant informed a PBSO officer about another brothel operated by 73-year-old Linares and the other man.

On August 21, PBSO said investigators met with a man who accused the couple of being forced to work at the brothel for six months. The man said he met them at Club Ivey in West Palm Beach, where they put a gun to his head and told him he had no choice but to work at the brothel.

He explained to PBSO that when johns arrived at the brothel, they would pay $50 to a man at the door, receive a poker chip, and then choose a woman with whom they would have sexual intercourse for 15 minutes. He pointed out that johns were not allowed to speak to the women, and that the women moved to a different brothel each week.

When officers asked the brothel worker if the women were forced to have sex, he replied that they were because he heard them screaming out of the blue. The women were then given crystal meth to force them to cooperate, the report said.

Deputies noted that the man claimed that both Linares and his accomplice were normally armed with handguns in the brothel.

Based on this information, the affidavit states that the PBSO obtained a search warrant for the brothel, confirming that Linares and the other man were running the brothel and finding three women working there.

The woman, who had traveled from Connecticut, told officers that Linares accepted $50 from each john when he arrived at the apartment, but that she was only allowed to keep $25 per john. During the entire time she worked there, she earned $900.

When asked how many clients she saw daily, the victim told officers that it was between 8 and 15 per day.

Linares was released from jail on bail Sunday morning and his next court date is scheduled for next month.

The CBS12 News I Team has been reporting on this alleged organization since last summer. To see all of our previous coverage of the prostitution ring, click here.