Disturbance at sex trafficking trial could lead to more charges

An outburst in a Ramsey County courthouse Tuesday could mean more charges for a man found guilty of sex trafficking.

A jury found Johnathan Bernard Edwards, 25, and Kauser Mohamoud Yusuf, 22, guilty of engaging in sex trafficking a 15-year-old girl. Prosecutors said the two posted pictures of the girl on the classified site Backpage.com and collected the money men paid to have sex with her.

Law enforcement officers are investigating an outburst after the verdict was read, the Ramsey County Attorney's Office said in a news release. The Pioneer Press reported that Edwards spat at prosecutor Karen Kugler, then jumped on a table and lunged at her.

Edwards could face additional charges for the outburst, the attorney's office said. He and Yusuf each face up to 20 years in prison and $50,000 in fines for their sex trafficking convictions.

No one was injured during the incident, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in the news release.

Ramsey County sheriff's deputies escorted jurors to their cars after the trial wrapped up Tuesday evening.

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