Girl Rescued in Indianapolis Hotel Sex Trafficking Case

The woman told officers she had been staying with a man known only as Lovie Grace, who she said was “selling our bodies.”

INDIANAPOLIS — Police say an 18-year-old woman was found hiding outside a Northwest Indianapolis hotel after being forced into sex work.

Officers were called to the Comfort Inn on Wesleyan Road around 5:57 a.m. Aug. 14 for a welfare check. The woman told officers she had been staying with a man known only as Lovie Grace, who she said was “selling our bodies.” She was transported to St. Vincent Hospital.

Officers secured two hotel rooms linked to Grace, who is on house arrest. Evidence collected included small amounts of cocaine and marijuana, condoms, KY jelly, and advertisements for commercial sex. Investigators say Grace provided drugs to keep victims working and collected money through CashApp.

A second woman, 18, and a pregnant woman also reported being sexually assaulted and forced to engage in commercial sex while Grace and an accomplice, Tamya McKinney, oversaw operations. Victims described climbing over balcony railings to move between rooms and being prohibited from speaking unless supervised.

Detectives executed a search warrant on the rooms and a vehicle registered to Grace, recovering cash, drugs, and electronic devices. Jail calls and messages reviewed by police indicate Grace controlled the money and operations, recruiting multiple women and coordinating online ads for the hotel-based trafficking operation.

Grace faces multiple prior felony convictions and is currently monitored by GPS. He appeared in court on Tuesday. His trial is scheduled for October.

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