BALTIMORE, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A federal grand jury has indicted a Baltimore police officer on charges of operating a prostitution business, the FBI announced Friday.

The grand jury indicted Lamin Manneh, 32, Thursday on charges of traveling across state lines and using the telephone and Internet to operate the alleged prostitution business. The indictment was unsealed Friday when Manneh made his initial court appearance, the FBI said.


The indictment alleges Manneh operated a prostitution business with more than 300 clients between February and May, with Manneh's 19-year-old wife and another 19-year-old woman working as prostitutes.

Manneh allegedly wrote and posted more than 50 paid advertisements for the two women on the Internet, and rented rooms or drove the women to other locations where sex was provided.

The indictment alleges Manneh carried his police department-issued gun and assured the women he would use force to interrupt "a commercial sex interaction if the client was aggressive or non-compliant."

In convicted, Manneh could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and then would be subject to lifetime supervised release, the FBI said in a release.