edison-suspects-percival-williams-asha-chanell-vaughn.jpg

Percival Williams, 36, of Edison, left, who went by the street names "Knowledge" and "Don Cholo," was indicted on charges of human trafficking, kidnapping and racketeering. His girlfriend, Asha Chanell Vaughn, 24, was also indicted on related charges.

(N.J. Attorney General's Office)

TRENTON — An Edison man who allegedly used sex, cash and violence to enslave women in a high-priced prostitution ring was indicted today on first-degree charges of human trafficking, kidnapping and racketeering, the state Attorney General's Office said.

Percival Williams, 36, who went by the names "Knowledge" and "Don Cholo," allegedly found young women across the country and brought them to the state against their will or by enticing them with promises of a better life.

In one case, Williams abducted a woman from Cleveland by lacing her drink with a narcotic that caused her to pass out, drove her to New Jersey against her will and attempted to force her to work as a prostitute, authorities said.

He allegedly kept women at his Edison home or in nearby hotels and solicited them by placing suggestive advertisements, including naked photos, on Backpage.com. He also shopped the women in Manhattan, Atlantic City and Las Vegas, authorities said.

Residents of the middle-class community where Williams lives said they often saw taxis coming and going filled with young women, who occasionally walked around the neighborhood in short skirts.

Authorities have released few details on how the case unfolded, citing their investigation, but said they believed Williams had been moving women since at least February 2009 and controlled everything from the clothes they wore to the prices they charged for sexual favors.

If they resisted, authorities said, he threatened them.

The Attorney General's Office has declined to say how many women or clients were involved.

When Williams booked jobs for his women, authorities said, he demanded that they charge high rates, typically $500 to $1,000 an hour, and that they turn over all the money to him.

Authorities said the allegations matched the account of a 20-year-old Ohio woman who called Jersey City police in 2009, saying Williams was holding her against her will. Days earlier, the woman allegedly said, Williams offered her a ride home in his Maserati while she was walking with friends in Cleveland.

The woman said that while on a second date with Williams, she had a drink and woke up in a car on the highway in New York. She said Williams wined and dined her in Manhattan before asking her if she knew what a pimp was.

She said she called police after she refused to do a job and Williams threatened her. Officers arrested him and found a .45-caliber handgun with a loaded ammunition clip in a hidden compartment of his car.

Police at the time told the Jersey Journal that Williams had convictions in Florida, Virginia, Baltimore, and Hempstead, N.Y., for various crimes.

A grand jury declined to indict Williams on charges of human trafficking and promoting prostitution brought previously as a result of the 2009 allegations, and related weapons charges were eventually dismissed after a judge suppressed the evidence.

Williams' Jersey City apartment was only doors from the former residence of Allen Eugene Brown, known as "Prince the Pimp," who was sentenced in 2010 to 18 years in prison for running a similar operation.

The Attorney General's Office has declined comment on whether there was a connection between the two men. Brown died in prison in 2011.

Williams was also charged with conspiring with his girlfriend, Asha Chanell Vaughn, 24, to bring an estimated $500,000 worth of uncut diamonds stolen from a man's Manhattan hotel room into New Jersey, the office said.

Williams is being held in Middlesex County Jail on $1 million bail, authorities said, and Vaughn is free on $50,000 bail. Attorneys for the pair could not be reached for comment.

RELATED COVERAGE

• Edison man charged with running prostitution ring, ensnaring women as sex slaves

• More Crime

FOLLOW STAR-LEDGER POLITICS: TWITTER • FACEBOOK • GOOGLE+