ROCKVILLE, MD –  This morning in Montgomery County Circuit Court before the Honorable Judge David Lease, Emily Zhang Lawrence, age 47, of Germantown, MD entered a guilty plea to operating a House of Prostitution.

At sentencing, the State and defense agree upon a one year suspended sentence and unsupervised probation. As a condition of her probation, the defendant will forfeit her business license and agrees not to open or operate any spa or massage business in the State of Maryland. Lawrence is scheduled to be sentenced June 2, 2020 at 8:45am.

On February 26, 2019, the Montgomery County Police Department initiated a 5-month-long investigation after receiving a web tip complaint that Rose’s Spa was being operated as a “house of prostitution.” The Spa’s posted hours were 10:30am to 10:00pm, seven days a week. During the course of the investigation, detectives learned that the defendant owned an apartment that she would use as a harboring place for the females that worked at the spa.  Investigators were able to establish a pattern of the defendant picking up the females in her maroon Honda Odyssey minivan from the apartment and transporting them to the spa.  The females indicated that they had responded to ads for masseuses and were trained by the defendant when they arrived in Maryland. During the course of the investigation, Detectives also interviewed several men leaving the spa who admitted to paying for and receiving illicit sex acts while inside the business.  Several of those individuals identified the defendant as the owner/manager of the spa and the individual who controlled and received the payments.  The defendant admitted to shutting down the spa for a week in April after she was tipped off by a client to the ongoing investigation.  However, shortly thereafter she re-opened the spa and continued to operate it as a house of prostitution.  During the investigation, $427,477 was seized that was tied to the proceeds from the spa as the defendant admitted that the spa was her only source of income.  Pursuant to the plea, the defendant will forfeit a total of $377,477 to the Montgomery County Police Department.

The Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office served as special prosecutors in this case due to a conflict of interest in the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office. The State was represented by Frederick SAO Chief Counsel Joyce King and Assistant State’s Attorney Lindsey Carpenter.

Frederick – This morning, Frederick Circuit Court Judge William R. Nicklas Jr. sentenced Ernesto Cesar Torres, age 69, of Frederick to 1 year in the Frederick County Adult Detention Center. Torres waived his right to a jury trial in late October. Judge Nicklas presided over a three-day bench trial and ultimately on November 1^st, found Torres guilty of 2^nd Degree Assault and 4^th Degree Sex Offense. A 4^th Degree Sex Offense merges with 2^nd Degree Assault and therefore the maximum penalty in this case was a 1 year sentence. Torres will receive credit for time served on home detention since May 7^th.

State’s Attorney Charlie Smith commented, “We felt that the totality of facts warranted a guilty for 2^nd degree rape in this case. We respectfully disagreed with Judge Nicklas’ trial verdict, but understand his ruling.  We were relieved to see Torres get the maximum one year straight sentence and agree with Judge Nicklas that one year punishment in this case is simply not enough.  This victim will have to live with the emotional scars of Torres’ actions for the rest of her life.”

On April 26^th, 2019, the 18-year old female victim, who was a lifelong patient of Dr. Torres, went to his office on Thomas Johnson Drive for a follow-up appointment to discuss her anxiety medication. It was during this appointment that the victim reported being sexually assaulted by Torres.

The State was represented by Chief Assistant State’s Attorney Tammy Leache and Chief Counsel Joyce King.

Frederick – This morning, Frederick Circuit Court Judge Scott Rolle sentenced William James Sewell II, age 17, of Frederick to 30 years suspending all but 15 years in the Division of Corrections for Attempted 1^st Degree Murder. Sewell pled guilty to the charge in a Circuit Court hearing October 28, 2019.

On April 3rd, 2019, at approximately 4:15 pm., Frederick County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the area of Magnolia Tree Court and Burning Bush Drive in Frederick for a call of “shots fired.” Upon arrival at the scene, a .380 shell casing was located in the parking lot outside of the 5700 block of Trailview Court in Mountain Village.

After reviewing surveillance video at the apartment complex, detectives determined that four males walking from vehicles and towards approximately six other males in the area of the 5700 block of Trailview Court.   Mr. Sewell is seen on the surveillance recordings chasing after one of the males, shooting at him.   At approximately 4:10pm, the first shot can be heard on the surveillance footage. Approximately 27 seconds later a second shot is heard—Mr. Sewell shot at the same victim again.   Approximately 3 seconds later, Sewell’s co-defendant is seen on the recordings shooting at the same victim.

The defendant, William James Sewell II, was 16 years old when he committed the offense, and the co-defendant was Marquis Desade Scottland, 17, of Hagerstown, MD. After firing these three rounds, the suspects are observed running from the scene and entering both vehicles before fleeing the area.

State’s Attorney Charlie Smith reacted to the sentence, “This broad daylight shooting could have easily ended in tragedy. Bullets were flying through an apartment complex as people were going about their daily activities. This sentence sends a strong message that reckless acts of gun violence will be met with serious punishments.”

The State was represented by Chief Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Wilt and Assistant State’s Attorney Lindsey Carpenter. Deputies and detectives with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office handled the investigation.

William James Sewell II

FREDERICK – This afternoon, Frederick Circuit Court Judge William R. Nicklas Jr. rendered a verdict in the trial of Dr. Ernesto Cesar Torres. Nicklas found Torres Not Guilty of 2^nd degree rape, Guilty of 2^nd degree assault, and Guilty of 4^th degree sex offense. Sentencing will be held before Judge Nicklas on December 19th.

State’s Attorney Charlie Smith reacted, “I want to first thank the victim for her bravery in coming forward and testifying, her parents for their patience in the process, and the prosecution team for their dedication to this case and our community.”

Smith added, “I have to respectfully disagree with this verdict.  The judge just got this one wrong.  There is no way that someone in a position of trust, who uses that position to violate and molest their patient, did not force themselves upon them. It was force of a different kind, but force nonetheless.”

The trial started on Tuesday following the defendant waiving his right to a jury trial. In a bench trial, the Judge listens to arguments and renders a verdict that includes the finding of facts.

On April 26^th, 2019, the 18-year old female victim, who was a lifelong patient of Dr. Torres, went to his office on Thomas Johnson Drive for a follow-up appointment to discuss her anxiety medication. According to the testimony of Torres’ office staff, these types of appointments, referred to as “multiple problem appointments”, were held in the late morning and late afternoon due to their generally longer duration. The victim arrived for her appointment around 4pm that Friday afternoon. A nurse took her back to an examination room to take her vitals. Approximately 10-15 minutes later, Dr. Torres entered the room. Torres checked the victim’s eyes and ears, asked about anxiety, and tested her joints. During the examination, the victim began to experience symptoms of anxiety. Torres had the victim lay down on the exam table, and started to examine her abdominal region, at which point his hand went into the victim’s pants for several minutes. It was during this time that Torres’ hand touched the victim’s vagina. After the victim cried and had a runny nose, Torres grabbed a tissue for the victim and the sexual assault ended. The victim and Torres then spoke for a length of time about various topics, and he gave her a hug. The office staff left the building around 4:30pm that day. Dr. Torres was left alone with the victim for a significant period of time. He eventually walked her out and she drove home. She immediately went to her room to take a shower. The following day, she reported the incident to her mother. On Sunday April 28^th, the victim and her mother decided to tell her dad. At that point, they went to the Frederick Police Department to file a report and make a written statement. The initial report was taken by Officer Ashley Antczak and forwarded to CID. Shortly thereafter, Officer Antczak responded to the victim’s residence to recover the pants she was wearing the day of the incident. Detectives Joe Palkovic and Sean McKinney visited Dr. Torres on Monday April 29^th to confirm that the victim was his patient and that she has an appointment with him Friday April 26^th. Torres confirmed that he saw the victim that day. The detectives asked Torres if he would provide a DNA swab. He agreed, and detectives left briefly to gather the necessary materials from the police department. Upon their return, Dr. Torres admitted in an audio-recorded interview that he probably touched the patient’s vagina.

Detectives recommended charges to the States Attorney’s Office, which were then presented to the Frederick Grand Jury on May 3, 2019. The Grand Jury found there was sufficient evidence to charge Dr. Ernesto Torres with 2nd Degree Rape, 2nd Degree Assault, and 4th Degree Sex Offense.

FREDERICK – Today in Frederick County Circuit Court, Rudolph Jericho Smith, age 37, of Frederick, MD entered an Alford plea to 3 Counts of Second Degree Assault and 3 Counts of Knowingly Attempting to Transfer HIV. Sentencing was postponed at the request of both the State and Defense. An Alford plea is a type of guilty plea, where the Defendant does not formally admit guilt, but acknowledges that the State has sufficient evidence to convict them. Sentencing for Smith is scheduled for November 4^th, 2019 at 9am before the Honorable Judge Julia Martz-Fisher. Smith will remain held without bond at the Frederick County Adult Detention Center until sentencing.

The Frederick Police Department began an investigation into Rudolph Smith during the summer of 2017, when separate women disclosed their belief that Rudolph Smith had infected them with HIV. Considerable time in the investigation was spent trying to determine whether or not Mr. Smith was HIV positive, and whether he was aware of that fact. It was eventually established that Rudolph Smith was aware that he was HIV-positive but continued to have unprotected sex with women without informing them of his status.

In response to the plea agreement, State’s Attorney Charlie Smith commented, “The facts of this case are still very disturbing to me. For someone to intentionally transmit a disease such as this is horrible. These victims will have to live with this for the rest of their lives.”