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Four Arrested in Five-Year Human Trafficking Probe Linked to Franklin Strip Club

A 22-page complaint outlines alleged roles and tactics in a case with charging records still sealed.

Overview

  • An FBI task force arrested Jimmy Durant, Brian Hopkins, Dantavia Rule and Maurice Russell after a five-year investigation that began with a 2020 tip from a former employee.
  • Prosecutors say the complaint assigns roles that include Durant accused of trafficking multiple women, Rule and Russell as recruiters, and Hopkins as the club’s manager.
  • Victim accounts in the complaint describe sex acts in a VIP lounge with lights dimmed by bouncers, coerced travel to other states, forced surrender of earnings and violence or threats.
  • Investigators executed multiple search warrants in and outside Milwaukee, and the four defendants made their initial court appearances on Friday.
  • The club remains open, its representatives declined comment, and the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office says the charging documents remain sealed.