Arrest report: Female runaway alleges man made her engage in sex acts for money

A Las Vegas man has been charged with kidnapping a minor and sex trafficking after a female victim alleged he refused to allow her to leave his apartment where he made her perform paid sex acts.

Officers arrested Evon Johnson, 30, at his home in the 2300 block of North Jones Boulevard after interviews with a young female who claimed Johnson held her against her will to provide “in call” sex services for money, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.

The Clark County district attorney’s office on Tuesday filed charges of felony kidnapping of a minor, facilitating sex trafficking and child abuse or neglect against Johnson, court records show.

Johnson, who appeared in Las Vegas Justice Court on Wednesday, was released on bail with the condition he not contact the alleged victim, refrain from entering the Strip corridor and undergo electronic monitoring by police, according to court records.

The victim told police detectives that Johnson took photos of her for online prostitution advertisements, accepted phone calls from prospective “johns,” or sex customers, had her talk to them on his phone, provided her with condoms and required her “to give all of her earnings as a prostitute” to him.

Johnson would go out and meet with customers, tell them where to park and directed the girl to go outside and show the customers in while he waited in his car for her to conduct each assigned “date,” which took place on his couch, according to the arrest report.

The girl told detectives that she met Johnson two months earlier when she ran away from home and came to Las Vegas with a friend. She said she separated from the friend and soon met Johnson virtually on the online chat and dating app Tagged, where she told him she was stranded and he offered to let her stay with him, police reported.

She alleged that he sexually assaulted her while she was asleep during the first night she spent at his home and that he later told her she could “make money by going on dates with men,” the arrest report stated..

Over a period of time when she served customers, she “tried to leave several times but Johnson wouldn’t allow her to leave,” the report stated.

“Johnson would transport (her) to several different locations in order to keep her hidden and prevent her from leaving,” the report stated. “(She) stated Johnson has a machete that he carries everywhere with him, as well as a black firearm he typically leaves in a red backpack in his residence.”

A detective, after getting a search warrant, entered Johnson’s apartment and impounded a Ruger .44 Special revolver from inside a red backpack, some condoms and a laptop, according to the report.

The detective, waiting with other detectives during a “safety sweep” surveillance outside the suspect’s apartment, took Johnson into custody when he arrived home.

Johnson admitted to having sex with the female but denied posting prostitution ads or having her conduct dates in his apartment, the detective reported.

He “stated that even though he had an idea she was working as a prostitute, he stayed out of her business,” according to the report.

Judge Amy Chelini is set to preside over Johnson’s preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb. 21 in Las Vegas Justice Court.

Contact Jeff Burbank at jburbank@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0382. Follow him @JeffBurbank2 on Twitter.