Detention hearings wrap up for prostitution suspects

Preliminary hearings for some of the 29 suspects in an alleged prostitution ring involving underage girls wrapped up Friday in federal court in Minneapolis.

All but one of the 13 suspects who have appeared before magistrate judge Franklin Noel have admitted they are the person named in the indictment. But not Yassin Yusuf. Yusuf's defense attorney challenged the method the government used to identify him.

However, an immigration agent testified that Yusuf made a statement to agents referring to the girl known as Jane Doe No. 2 in the indictment. According to the agent, Yusuf told them, "she told me she was 19."

In addition to the 13 suspects who have appeared in court in Minneapolis, Eight suspects are in custody in Tennessee. Five suspects are locked up in other jails for other offenses, and three are still on the loose.

Only one suspect, Bibi Said, is out on $25,000 bond. Said, who is eight months pregnant, is scheduled to make a court appearance in Nashville on Nov. 30.