Accused Belltown madam pleads not guilty
SEATTLE -- A woman who prosecutors say ran a brothel out of a Downtown Seattle apartment has pleaded not guilty.
Kaiyana N. McCloud, 28, has been charged with three counts of second-degree promotion of prostitution for incidents that occurred between July and September of this year.
In King County Superior Court on Wednesday, McCloud asked a judge to allow her to remain free while she worked to post bail.
"I am going to come to court because this is serious and it needs to be taken care of," McCloud said. "I have a 3-week-old baby at home and a 5-year-old."
The judge questioned her failure to appear in court on a previous DUI charge, but agreed to let McCloud have until Monday to post $5,000 bail.
According to court documents, police believe McCloud ran the brothel out of an apartment unit in the 200 block of Wall Street.
The manager of the building first alerted investigators in July after her staff noticed strange men frequenting the apartment, only staying for an hour at a time.
Detectives contacted a man seen leaving the apartment and he said he was there to visit a prostitute.
The man pointed investigators to the establishment's Web site, which advertised 10 different girls working out of the apartment unit. The service - Agency Elite - also claimed to have "businesses all over the United States," according to court documents.
Using the phone number listed on the site, three undercover police officers made appointments with Agency Elite escort girls in the coming days. At each of the appointments, the officers were presented with an offer for a sex act to be performed, investigators said, but each time the officers used an excuse to avoid engaging in such acts.
Then in August, a female undercover officer applied for a job at Agency Elite. A woman named "Rachel" told the officer that the escort girls "have sex with the customers and charge between $300 and $350," the documents said. Rachel told the officer she kept 30 percent of that money, and the girls kept the rest.
Detectives said bills for the apartment's phone, Internet connection and rent were being paid for by McCloud. Records at the state Employment Security Office indicated she had not had any known income since the beginning of 2006.
On Oct. 2, police searched the apartment and arrested McCloud. Upon being questioned, authorities said McCloud admitted to owning Agency Elite and employing girls to have sex with male customers.
Records show McCloud was also arrested for investigation of prostitution in January 2000, but those charges were later dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Her next court appearance was scheduled for November 4.
Kaiyana N. McCloud, 28, has been charged with three counts of second-degree promotion of prostitution for incidents that occurred between July and September of this year.
In King County Superior Court on Wednesday, McCloud asked a judge to allow her to remain free while she worked to post bail.
"I am going to come to court because this is serious and it needs to be taken care of," McCloud said. "I have a 3-week-old baby at home and a 5-year-old."
The judge questioned her failure to appear in court on a previous DUI charge, but agreed to let McCloud have until Monday to post $5,000 bail.
According to court documents, police believe McCloud ran the brothel out of an apartment unit in the 200 block of Wall Street.
The manager of the building first alerted investigators in July after her staff noticed strange men frequenting the apartment, only staying for an hour at a time.
Detectives contacted a man seen leaving the apartment and he said he was there to visit a prostitute.
The man pointed investigators to the establishment's Web site, which advertised 10 different girls working out of the apartment unit. The service - Agency Elite - also claimed to have "businesses all over the United States," according to court documents.
Using the phone number listed on the site, three undercover police officers made appointments with Agency Elite escort girls in the coming days. At each of the appointments, the officers were presented with an offer for a sex act to be performed, investigators said, but each time the officers used an excuse to avoid engaging in such acts.
Then in August, a female undercover officer applied for a job at Agency Elite. A woman named "Rachel" told the officer that the escort girls "have sex with the customers and charge between $300 and $350," the documents said. Rachel told the officer she kept 30 percent of that money, and the girls kept the rest.
Detectives said bills for the apartment's phone, Internet connection and rent were being paid for by McCloud. Records at the state Employment Security Office indicated she had not had any known income since the beginning of 2006.
On Oct. 2, police searched the apartment and arrested McCloud. Upon being questioned, authorities said McCloud admitted to owning Agency Elite and employing girls to have sex with male customers.
Records show McCloud was also arrested for investigation of prostitution in January 2000, but those charges were later dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Her next court appearance was scheduled for November 4.