When a 15-year-old girl had a disagreement with her mother, a woman just three years older offered to care for her.

The woman, a gang member, would give her a place to stay and food. But there was a catch.

The 15-year-old had to have sex for money or other items of value, according to a federal indictment unsealed Monday.

The teen, referred to as Jane Doe Three in the indictment, was one of the underage girls allegedly trafficked by three Somali gangs between the Twin Cities; Columbus, Ohio; and Nashville, Tenn. Twenty-nine people, including three women, were charged.

It’s not unusual for older females to recruit, lure or “groom” younger females into commercial sex exploitation, said Heather Caillier, marketing and development manager of the St. Paul-based nonprofit Breaking Free.

“This happens in mainstream culture but also worldwide,” Caillier said. “Girls who have been victimized turn to recruitment to put themselves in a better position (with the pimps) as well as do less of the servicing.”

The indictment said the conspiracy ran from January 2000 to July; the earliest trafficking began in December 2005. The youngest victim was 12, said St. Paul Police Chief Thomas Smith.

St. Paul police began the investigation in 2008, with the department’s Gerald D. Vick Human Trafficking Task Force leading the investigation, Smith said. Police had heard concerns from people in the Somali community — leaders, elders and parents, though not necessarily parents of the victims, he said.

Why the victims stayed with their abusers is complicated, Smith said, referring to “indentured servitude.” There’s “fear, intimidation, threats of violence, acts of violence,” he said.

“We want the investigation to root out the criminals, but we also want a remedy for the vulnerable teenagers, youths and families,” said Dahir Mirreh Jibreel, director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, referring to “educating the youth, resources for rehabilitating victims and resources for building families that can protect their children.”

Officers in the Twin Cities and Nashville began arresting the 29 suspects Monday morning, after the federal indictment was unsealed, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Nashville. As of late afternoon, 26 had been arrested, including 17 in Minnesota, St. Paul police said.

The sex trafficking offenses carry a penalty of 15 years to life in prison.

Charges in the 24-count indictment include sex trafficking of juveniles and conspiring to sex-traffic juveniles, obstruction of justice, perjury, auto theft and credit card fraud. The indictment also alleges the sexual assault of an 18-year-old woman.

The indictment gives information about four victims, referred to as Jane Does. Assistant U.S. Attorney Van Vincent, the lead prosecutor, said that he could comment only on what is in the indictment and not whether there were other victims.

All the people indicted are alleged to be involved in, or associates of, three gangs.

FOUR VICTIMS DETAILED

The indictment gives this information:

Three gangs are based in Minneapolis and connected with each other — the Somali Outlaws, Somali Mafia and Lady Outlaws.

One intention of the gangs “is to identify, recruit and obtain females who are under the age of 14 years and under the age of 18 years, to participate in commercial sex acts in exchange for money and other items,” the indictment said. They “use … abuse, threats, force and coercion.”

Jane Doe One, who turned 14 in January 2006, was taken from the Twin Cities to Columbus, Nashville and other locations from December 2005 to June 2008.

In December 2005, Jane Doe One was taken from Minneapolis to a Nashville apartment rented by Fadumo Mohamed Farah, then 21. She and two others “caused Jane Doe One to engage in commercial sex acts for which they received things of value,” the affidavit said.

When Jane Doe One returned to the Twin Cities in January 2006, Hamdi Ali Osman approached the girl. Osman was 17 at the time. Her aliases are “Big Hamdi” and “Boss Lady,” and she was a member of the Lady Outlaws and a gang called the Lady Bravehearts, the indictment said.

From October 2006 through June 2007, Jane Doe One was taken from the Twin Cities to Columbus. In 2008, when the teen was in Seattle for personal reasons, she was sent to a residence and sexually assaulted.

Jane Doe Two was taken from her house to an apartment at 1374 Westminster St. in St. Paul in December 2006. She was 12. At the apartment, three of the indicted people and others “engaged in sexual acts” with the girl.

Other males arrived and were charged money by the three indicted males to engage in sexual acts with the girl.

“This same activity occurred on multiple dates at this apartment,” the indictment said. “Jane Doe Two was informed by the aforementioned defendants that selling Jane Doe Two for sex would be called a ‘mission.’ It was a rule that members of the (Somali Outlaws and Somali Mafia) would not be charged for sex with Jane Doe Two as they were fellow gang members.”

On two occasions, the girl’s mother confronted two of the suspects and others, and told them that the girl was not yet 13, the indictment said.

In April 2009, a group picked up Jane Doe Two at her high school. Five men “engaged in … sex act(s)” with her. She was then taken shopping, and one of the men paid for her purchases.

Later that month, the girl was told to engage in a sex act with a male in exchange for marijuana and liquor. She was brought to Nashville in April 2009 to engage in commercial sex acts.

Also in April 2009, one of the suspects spoke to two others about talking to Jane Doe Two’s parents. He told one “to make sure Jane Doe Two’s family cannot come to court,” the indictment said.

Jane Doe Three was living in Minnesota about Feb. 1, 2008. She got into an argument with her mother and left the house. She was 15 at the time and called Osman.

Osman, who was in Nashville, told Jane Doe Three “that she would support her, giving her a place to stay and food,” the indictment said. In exchange, Osman expected the girl to engage in commercial sex acts.

Jane Doe Three’s mother arrived in Nashville around Feb. 5, 2008, and retrieved the girl from Osman’s presence. Osman told the girl’s mother that she had not invited Jane Doe Three to Nashville.

In March, Bashir Yasin Mohamud and others brought Jane Doe Four to a Motel 6 in Richfield and rented a room. He, Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed “and other males through force and fraud, had nonconsensual sex with Jane Doe Four,” the indictment said.

FIRST COURT APPEARANCE

The 29 people charged are: Abdifitah Jama Adan, 28; Abdullahi Sade Afyare, 19; Ahmad Abnulnasir Ahmad, 23; Yahya Jamal Ahmed, 23; Abdikarim Osman Ali, 22; Musse Ahmed Ali, 23; Hassan Ahmed Dahir, 21; Fadumo Mohamed Farah, 25; Idris Ibrahim Fahra, 22; Yasin Ahmed Farah, 19; Abdullahi Hashi, 24; Fatah Haji Hashi, 23; Abdirahman Abdirazak Hersi, 20; Muhiyadin Hassan Hussein, 22; Dahir Nor Ibrahim, 38; Abdifatah Bashir Jama, 23; Andrew Kayachith, 20; Abdigadir Ahmed Khalif, 24; Bashir Yasin Mohamud, 26; Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed, 22; Fuad Faisal Nur, 24; Abdifatah Sharif Omar, 25; Liban Sharif Omar, 21; Mohamed Sharif Omar, 26; Hamdi Ali Osman, 22; Haji Osman Salad, 20; Bibi Ahmed Said, 19; Ahmed Aweys Sheik, 24; Yassin Abdirahman Yusuf, 21.

Twelve of the defendants, including two of the women, made a first appearance in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on Monday afternoon.

Seven were remanded to the U.S. Marshals Service pending their next court appearance. Five were released pending their next appearance; four of those were let go on a $25,000 unsecured bond. U.S. Magistrate Franklin Noel said they would not have to put up money, but that if they did not make future appearances, they would owe the government $25,000.

Osman, 21, has been in Minnesota for 14 years, her attorney said. Her mother and brother are in the area, and she is working.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney David Steinkamp said Osman’s prior criminal record is serious, including a felony theft from a person in Hennepin County and a guilty plea to disorderly conduct. He also said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had put an immigration hold on Osman.

The judge ordered Osman be detained until her next hearing Friday.

Bibi Said’s attorney argued for her release pending a removal hearing based on her age — she is 19 — and the fact that Said is “seven or eight months pregnant.” The attorney said Said is a full-time student with family ties in Minnesota.

Noel granted the temporary release for Said until her next hearing Friday.

Of the three women charged, only Said is not charged with trafficking offenses. The charges against her include false declaration/perjury and “corruptly” persuading and attempting to persuade another person’s testimony before the grand jury.

The five defendants who were temporarily released will be monitored electronically.

Omar Jamal, first secretary to Somalia’s ambassador to the United Nations, was in the Minneapolis court Monday and said he had talked to relatives of four of the people charged. They “were completely in disbelief,” he said. “That doesn’t mean nothing happened, but … engaging in sex trafficking with a minor is a new trend, a new kind of crime they hadn’t been aware of.”

Rubén Rosario and Emily Gurnon contributed to this report.

Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at 651-228-5262.