by John Gessner
Thisweek Newspapers

A 19-year-old woman was sentenced Jan. 7 to five years in prison for operating a prostitution ring employing high school students.

Justine Alex Reisdorf, who has lived in Burnsville and Eagan, will serve three years of supervised release after her prison term. She pleaded guilty in September to one count of using an interstate facility (a computer) to promote prostitution.

Reisdorf, a former student at Vale Educational Center in Eagan, employed minor girls who attended school in the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage district, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Minneapolis. Vale is a district school for students with emotional-behavioral problems. Reisdorf wasn't attending the school while operating the prostitution ring.

She was indicted in August. One charge of sex trafficking of a minor was dismissed.

According to the indictment, Reisdorf operated the prostitution ring between November 2006 and March 2007. Prostitution occurred at a rented townhouse on the 2100 block of 117th Street in Burnsville and at the Hampton Inn in Burnsville, where authorities said Reisdorf used her job at the hotel to obtain rooms for prostitution.

Reisdorf advertised the operation on the Internet site Craigslist, through listings that displayed photos of the females with available services and prices.

In April 2007, police subpoenaed Craigslist and traced the listings to Reisdorf. An Eagan police officer had learned of her alleged activities through a tip from a female student.

A search of the Burnsville townhouse in December 2006 had turned up evidence of prostitution, including condoms, names and phone numbers.

At the sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said he intended the sentence to "deter others from engaging in trafficking of minors," according to the U.S. attorney's office.

The case was investigated by Eagan police and the FBI.

John Gessner is at burnsville.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.