Witness' credibility in dispute in sex trafficking trial

by Laura Yuen, Minnesota Public Radio

St. Paul, Minn. — In Nashville, opening arguments are scheduled to begin Monday in a complex case accusing Twin Cities gangs of prostituting young girls.

However, the credibility of one of the alleged victims is in dispute.

The witness known as Jane Doe 2 is expected to testify. She told investigators she was lured into having sex with men in 2006, when she was just 12.

She says she is now 17, and is still recovering from her experience of being trafficked by the gangs Somali Outlaws and the Somali Mafia. In a court document, she said she wants to tell her story and escape the shame cast over her and her family.

But over the weekend, an attorney for defendant Yassin Abdirahman Yusuf asked that a judge dismiss all charges involving Jane Doe 2. The defense claims the mother lied under oath about her daughter's true birthdate. The defense motion also notes recent DNA testing shows the daughter's biological father isn't who the mother said he was. The defendants believe Jane Doe 2 is much older than she maintains, and is far from what the government has portrayed as a traumatized victim.

Fourteen of 30 defendants charged in the case are going to trial this month. Two are pleading guilty to lesser charges.