Men arrested for sex trafficking minors at Northeast Philly motel

Emanuel Banks, 22, and Christopher Powell, 30, face numerous charges after an anonymous tip led police to the Roosevelt Inn. (Credit: Philadelphia Police Department)

Two men were arrested Friday and charged with the sexual exploitation of children and human trafficking offenses following a prostitution sting at a notorious Northeast Philadelphia motel.

Police said officers with the City Wide Vice Unit on Wednesday received an anonymous complaint regarding prostitution taking place inside the Roosevelt Inn at 7600 Roosevelt Boulevard.

Police and FBI agents conducted a sting at the motel around 9:45 p.m. Friday night. Officers arrested Emanuel Banks, 22, of the 1600 block of Margaret Street in East Frankford, along with 30-year-old Christopher Powell, of the 200 block of Watson Road in Sharon Hill, Pa.

Banks is charged withconspiracy, unlawful contact with a minor, the sexual exploitation of children, human trafficking, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, interference with the custody of children, corruption of minors, criminal use of a communication facility, simple assault, reckless endangerment, promoting prostitution and criminal solicitation.

Powell is charged with conspiracy, unlawful contact with a minor, the sexual exploitation of children, human trafficking, unlawful restrain, false imprisonment, interference with the custody of children, corruption of minors, criminal use of a communication facility, promoting prostitution and controlled substance possession.

Banks was jailed in lieu of $1 million bail, while bail for Powell was set at $750,000. Both men were arraigned Saturday and are next due in court for their preliminary hearings April 3.

Police said the Roosevelt Inn had in the past surfaced in previous prostitution complaints, as well as various types of armed assault.