Austin resident pleads guilty to prostitution count

Published 6:59 am Tuesday, October 20, 2009

An Austin man charged with hiring a 17-year-old prostitute who later stole his shorts from a motel room pleaded guilty Monday in Mower County.

Carlos Lennin Batista-Quintana, 24, will be sentenced March 18 on one gross misdemeanor count of prostitution for hiring a 16- or 17-year-old.

According to his plea agreement, Batista-Quintana could face a 364-day stayed prison sentence.

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Batista-Quintana took the girl to the Sterling Motel in Austin on May 24 for sex, according to a criminal complaint.

While Batista-Quintana was putting on a condom, the girl allegedly stole his shorts and left in a car driven by another woman, which the complaint alleges was Chanel Johnson, 27, of Austin.

Johnson has pleaded not guilty to charges of promoting prostitution and robbery. She has a pre-trial hearing set for February.

Batista-Quintana told police he met the girl at a fast-food restaurant and drove her to the motel.

He said he and the girl each got their own room but she came to his room shortly after arriving, pushing him down into the room and stealing his shorts after Batista-Quintana injured his neck from the fall.

Motel surveillance footage, however, showed Batista-Quintana entering the room with a girl, who was seen leaving shortly after. The motel owner also told police that only one room was rented.

Batista-Quintana and his wife went to police to report the robbery later that evening.

The girl stole his wallet with $400 in cash, a credit card, a cell phone, a Minnesota ID, a gold wedding ring and $70 in Mexican currency, the complaint states.

The 17-year-old girl was sentenced in August to one-year’s probation and 50 hours of community service for gross misdemeanor theft.