A Cobb County couple began their prison sentences this week after pleading guilty to running a large prostitution ring, including one at an apartment complex across the street from a Dunwoody police station.
Samuel Leon Crenshaw, 51, and his wife Darliene L. Crenshaw, 48, surrendered to authorities Sunday in connection with the “commercial sex enterprise,” DeKalb County district attorney spokeswoman Yvette Jones said in a news release.
A months long Dunwoody police investigation revealed the couple ran the prostitution ring under business names “Gold Club” and then “Lipstick and Shoes” between February 2015 and August 2016.
Jones said the Crenshaws and their co-conspirators used false information to lease three units at three Dunwoody apartment complexes, including the Savannah at Park Place apartments located across from the police station.
The couple and their co-defendants paired “models” with clients to engage in paid sexual activities, according to the release. They also recruited employees, advertised, secured locations and managed appointments and payment systems.
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Dunwoody police arrested the couple in December 2016 and later, along with other local jurisdictions, arrested 56 others in connection with the prostitution ring. One person arrested was Gwinnett County Assistant District Attorney Christopher Quinn who resigned a month after his arrest.
In all, 62 people including the Crenshaws were charged in what Jones called “the largest of its type in DeKalb County history.” The charges ranged from RICO, to pandering and prostitution.
The Crenshaws each pleaded guilty to one RICO charge and were sentenced to 20 years. Samuel and Darliene Crenshaw were ordered to serve seven and three years of their sentences, respectively.
Along with Crenshaws, George Moore, 40, Tara Lee Gilleo, 47, and Giovene Burkhalter, 32, pleaded guilty to RICO charges for their high-level administrative roles within the organization, Jones said in the release. Moore was sentenced to 20 years to serve four years in custody. Burkhalter and Gilleo were sentenced to five years on probation.
Those charged with pandering were given a variety of jail time, probation, fines, community service and submitting to drug and STD testing. Those charged with prostitution were referred to counseling and programs for survivors of sex trafficking. They must also submit to drug and STD testing.
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