By Erica Jones
A D.C. police
officer is facing felony charges following allegations that he
"pimped" teenage girls, police announced Wednesday.
Linwood
Barnhill, 47, was charged Wednesday with two counts of pandering of a minor. In
the District, pandering is defined as inducing or compelling an individual to
engage in prostitution.
The charges
comprise one count each for allegedly pimping a 16-year-old girl and a
15-year-old girl. Authorities say Barnhill advertised the girls on
Backpages.com and by other means for $50-$80, News4's Mark Segraves reported.
Sources tell
Segraves that other D.C. police officers are being questioned in the case,
including his roommate who is also a D.C. officer.
In court
Wednesday afternoon, Barnhill was shackled as he appeared before a D.C.
Superior Court judge. He did not enter a plea and was ordered held until his
next court date Friday.
His attorney
asked that he be separated from the general population while in a D.C. jail.
Barnhill was
arrested Wednesday morning, eight days after he was found inside his Southeast
D.C. apartment with a 16-year-old girl who had been reported missing, as well
as an 18-year-old woman.
The 16-year-old
told authorities that Barnhill had approached her at a shopping mall about two
weeks earlier and asked if she wanted to be a model. She visited his apartment
several times after that, and at one point, Barnhill gave her a cellphone and
told the girl he had made a "date" for her with another man to engage
in sex acts, according to charging documents.
He told her
that the man would pay her $80 and the girl should give Barnhill $20 of it, the
documents say.
The girl also
told authorities that Barnhill took naked photos of her wearing sparkly
high-heeled shoes he had given her, and told her he'd take her shopping at
Rainbow to purchase clothes for the "date."
The girl also
told authorities that she met other women at the apartment who said they had
worked as prostitutes for him, according to a search warrant affidavit.
A court hearing
Wednesday afternoon revealed that police have found a second alleged victim, a
15-year-old girl. That girl told authorities she met Barnhill at a bus stop in
September and initially told him she was 18, before admitting that she was 15
after Barnhill asked her to "escort" for him.
"The
defendent informed [the girl] that he plans bachelor parties and has 'tons' of
girls. [The girl] stated the defendent told her that her young age was not a
problem because he had other minors who worked for him," the charging
documents state.
Barnhill took
nude and clothed photos of the girl and then arranged for her to have sex with
a man in his 40s or 50s in Barnhill's bedroom, the documents say. Barnhill
allegedly provided condoms for the encounter.
The 15-year-old
girl performed the sex acts and then told Barnhill she was not interested in
continuing to work for him, according to authorities.
A mirror in
Barnhill's apartment displayed the names of other women whom the 16-year-old
girl said were prostitutes, police said. Authorities say they know of at least
six other females allegedly pimped by Barnhill. The ages of these girls or
women are unknown at this point, Segraves reported.
If convicted,
Barnhill could face up to 20 years in prison. He is due back in court Friday
morning for a detention hearing and preliminary hearing.
Barnhill's
arrest came hours after a D.C. officer facing child porn charges was found dead
in the waters of Hains Point in Southwest D.C.
Last week,
32-year-old Marc Washington was arrested after he allegedly went to the home of
a 15-year-old girl who had previously been reported missing, ordered her to
remove her clothing and took photos of her, all while he was on duty.
In a press
conference last week, Lanier said that while both officers were from the same
precinct, the two investigations were
not connected.
"As
disheartening as it is to have members of this department involved in this type
of conduct, I take solace in knowing that it was members of this department who
worked tirelessly to ensure that they were brought to justice," Police
Chief Cathy L. Lanier said in a release regarding Barnhill's arrest.
Barnhill, who
has been with D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department for 24 years, has been on
light duty since September 2012. Lanier declined to comment on why, citing
medical privacy laws.
He is now on
administrative leave.
A third officer
is also under investigation for possibly tipping Washington off about his
forthcoming arrest earlier this week, sources said.
All three
officers work in MPD's Seventh District, law enforcement sources said.
