MAHTOMEDI, Minn. — A Mahtomedi man has been sentenced to 19-years in prison after pleading guilty for a second time to sex trafficking by a Washington County judge.
Shaun Michael Maubach, 32, was initially arrested by Woodbury Police in June for outstanding warrants from Washington State and Kansas for burglary according to the criminal complaint.
Maubach offered his phone to the Woodbury detective offering information on an extensive marijuana and meth production facility. Looking through the phone, the detective observed an app that generated additional numbers – numbers that were linked to more than a dozen backpage.com prostitution advertisements.
Messages and photographs on the phone revealed Maubach to be a pimp “running six girls” in Minnesota, Washington State, and Colorado. Correspondences on the app also suggest Maubach sought to steal from his commercial sex customers according to the criminal complaint.
After posting bail for his outstanding warrants, Maubach was back to pimping girls.
Woodbury police initiated a sting to catch Maubach in the act. Using a phone number from the app, the detective set up a meeting with Maubach, where they observed a woman getting out of a pick-up truck. The woman, who has not been identified, told police that she is a prostitute to help pay “their bills,” referring to Maubach.
Maubach was also convicted on a felony human-trafficking offense in 2009 for trafficking victims for the purposes of prostitution.
Lately, the greater-Twin Cities area has seen an influx in sex trafficking charges.
As Alpha News reported in August, a Columbia Heights, Minnesota man is facing state and federal charges for human trafficking and forced labor.
Pisanu Sukhtipyaroge, 71, forced a young Dominican man into having sex with him and also working in his restaurant for wages less than $1.00 an hour.
Late in July, another restaurant owner in Maple Grove, Minnesota faced multiple charges of sex trafficking in various states. The defendant in this case also used backpages.com.
“Human sex trafficking knows no city boundaries,” Washington County Attorney Pete Orput said in a statement. “This investigation shows what inter-agency collaboration can do to further the fight against sex and human trafficking. The use and abuse of these trafficking victims is sickening and antithetical to any rational human being.”
Preya Samsundar
Preya Samsundar was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities this Spring with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Strategic Communications. Preya has previously worked on several State Campaign Races.
