APD Shuts Down N. Austin Brothel

Inside this building in the 1000 block of North Meadows in North Austin, police say women were being forced to perform sexual acts on men, and according to neighbors, a lot of men.

"We saw traffic from morning till night," says a neighbor.

One woman did not want to identify herself told FOX 7 that neighbors were suspicious something illegal was going on inside the home.

"I think a lot of people around here knew what was going on, they were just afraid to speak out or they didn't know what to do, you know?"

Police had their suspicions too and on Wednesday, undercover officers went in to find that a brothel was being run out of the home.

"They called the rescue team to come in and detain the persons inside," APD Sgt. Kieth Bazzle said.

Police say they found two men and two women inside. The women were being forced to have sex. One of the men was the overseer of the operation.

Police arrested 51-year-old Rufino Lopez-Ramos and charged him with aggravated promotion of prostitution, a third degree felony. Police say he was charging men $40 to have sex with the women.

"The overseer would then give them a little metal coin, signifying that they did have a sexual act with one of the males. At the end of the day they would turn all their coins in to the overseer," said Sgt. Bazzle.

The women told police that they just arrived in Austin a few days ago.

"They were transported out weekly. Each week there were different females brought in."

Now police are trying to determine where they all came from and who else is involved. They are asking that anyone with information, contact the Austin Police Department.