Seven of the 10 defendants linked to the ring were re-arraigned Thursday in El Paso, more than a month after they were arrested in Baltimore and extradited to Texas. A grand jury returned a superseding indictment in the case last week.
The suspects are charged with sex trafficking induced by force, fraud or coercion and conspiracy to transport for prostitution. One of them has already been re-arraigned and two others remain in Baltimore.
Authorities say Alarcon Wiggins, a self-proclaimed recording artist, used his ties to the music industry to entice women to move to El Paso and force them into his prostitution scheme.