A jury has convicted a Minneapolis man of bringing a 14-year-old girl and a 20-year-old woman to his alleged accomplice’s Mahtomedi apartment where they were given drugs and sexually assaulted earlier this year.
Billy Ray Wiley, 52, was found guilty Tuesday in Washington County District Court of two counts of sex trafficking and one each of first- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the case, which followed a multi-agency investigation led by the East Metro Human Trafficking Task Force.
Billy Ray Wiley (Courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office)
Wiley looked for women and girls in the Twin Cities area, often approaching them near grocery stores or in the street in Minneapolis and St. Paul. He would offer them rides, drugs or money.
“This case is a horrifying example of a predator preying on the most vulnerable members of our community,” County Attorney Kevin Magnuson said in a post-verdict statement. “I truly admire the courage of the two young victims who not only survived these horrific assaults, but also bravely testified at trial — despite being forced to relive their trauma when the defendant, representing himself, cross-examined them in open court.”
Jurors answered yes to all four questions on a verdict form, allowing the prosecution to argue for an upward departure from state sentencing guidelines. Wiley remains jailed ahead of sentencing, which is set for Jan. 7.
Michael Lewis (Courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office)
Co-defendant Michael Lewis, 69, of Mahtomedi, faces two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. He remains jailed, and is due back in court Friday.
According to the criminal complaints:
Officers were called to the Piccadilly Square Apartments, a 62+ housing community near Wildwood and Stillwater roads, on June 30 on a report of a teenager dancing in the parking lot and screaming, “no no no.” The person who called said an unknown man dropped her off about four hours earlier.
A man identified as Lewis stepped out the front door of the apartment. The teen, later identified as the 14-year-old, pointed to him and said she was with Lewis and one of his friends, the complaints said. Officers spoke with Lewis, who said he did not know the teen.
Officers searched her purse and found several unopened condoms and drug paraphernalia.
She was taken to the hospital, where investigators met with her and asked how she knew the man who brought her to the apartment. She said he was a “friend,” who she referred to as “Billy,” and she said he often drove around her neighborhood.
The teen told investigators in a follow-up interview several days later that “when Wiley picked her up, she knew she would be expected to engage in sexual acts in exchange for money and drugs.” She said Wiley had given her crack cocaine and brought her to the apartment, where she was sexually and physically assaulted by Wiley and the other man. She identified Lewis as the man inside the apartment after looking at a photo.
Earlier, on June 13, a 20-year-old woman reported to St. Paul police that a man, later identified as Wiley, picked her up while she was waiting for a bus on Lake Street in Minneapolis. She said he brought her to an apartment, where he physically and sexually assaulted her.
After the assault, Wiley drove her to downtown St. Paul. Once she got out of the car, she asked people on the street for help and they flagged down an officer.
She told police he recorded the sexual assault on his phone, and investigators later recovered the video and identified the location as Lewis’ apartment, the complaints said.
Law enforcement obtained a tracking warrant and arrested Wiley on July 8 when he drove by the Piccadilly apartments.
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Law enforcement also arrested Lewis, and drug paraphernalia was found in his apartment.
A 17-year-old girl was in the car with Wiley. She said that earlier in the day, in the area of Dale Street and University Avenue in St. Paul, Wiley “pulled up right next to her and asked her what she needed. He then gave her a cigarette and asked if she wanted to go for a ride,” the complaints said.
She said they drove around for several hours, and he “told her that she was pretty and had a nice body,” the complaints said. She said she told Wiley several times to drop her off, but he kept driving.
The teen also told officers “that many girls who are struggling with addiction hang around Dale and University” and “said that Wiley is known to pick up a lot of girls in the area,” the complaints said.
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