Man charged with promoting prostitution in Cook County sheriff’s sting

A Chicago man was charged with promoting prostitution after allegedly arranging appointments for women to exchange sex for money, the Cook County Sheriff’s office announced Friday.

Xin Jun Zhu, 50, was charged with promoting prostitution within 1,000 feet of a school and promoting prostitution for profit, the sheriff’s office said.

SVU Investigators made appointments over text to meet a woman for sex about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at a home in the 600 block of West 31st Street, the sheriff’s office said.

When the investigators arrived at the home, they were met by Zhu who verified the text messages and directed them to a room where a woman was waiting, according to the sheriff’s office.

Zhu and the woman were immediately taken into custody, the sheriff’s office said. The woman was released without charges after investigators learned Zhu was receiving money from her, the sheriff’s office said.

He appeared in bond court Friday and remains held on a $10,000 bond.