Woodbury Guardian Allegedly Allowed Disabled Teen to Engage in Prostitution

The guardian of a developmentally disabled woman has been charged with criminal neglect after she allegedly allowed the 19-year-old to engage in prostitution.

Cheryl Ann Tchida, 50, of Woodbury, had been the sole caretaker of the woman since October 2011, according to a Ramsey County criminal complaint. The charge is a gross misdemeanor.

The teen told police Tchida dropped her off in July 2012 to “hang out” with a 17-year-old at a Roseville motel and was eventually coerced into having sex with several men, the complaint says. The 19-year-old called Tchida to pick her up that night but she never came.

One of the men, identified as Hasan Muhammed or Muhammad, 32, sent Tchida a text message of the money she made that night and set up a LiveLinks account advertising prostitution for the teenager, the complaint says.

Tchida herself called police on Aug. 8 to report that the 19-year-old had been raped and forced to engage in prostitution, according to the complaint. The teenager is pregnant and was likely impregnated the first week of July 2012, the complaint says.

More arrests could be coming in connection with the case, according to the Star Tribune, which also reported that Tchida pleaded guilty in a 2008 case involving an injured 6-year-old at her unlicensed Woodbury daycare, at the 7100 block of Windgate Road.

The morning after the incident at the Roseville motel the teen was taken to a St. Paul apartment building, where Tchida eventually picked her up. It became a spot, along with a nearby Subway, where Tchida would drop her off over the next several weeks, the complaint says.

The teen now lives in a Washington County group home.

Star Tribune: Guardian charged after disabled Woodbury teen allegedly sold for sex

Pioneer Press: Woodbury woman allowed prostitution of disabled teen at motel, charges say

Like Patch on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Sign up for our free newsletter