The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today the indictment of a 33-year-old Auburn man by a federal grand jury for allegedly sex trafficking two women in western Washington and Portland following an investigation by the Bellevue Police Department.

John “Lucky” Cyprian, Jr., is alleged to have rented hotel rooms in the greater Seattle area — SeaTac, Bellevue, Mountlake Terrace — and Portland, where he forced two women to work as prostitutes through regular beatings and threats, keeping all of their earnings. These services were posted on online ad sites like Backpage.com from April 2013 to the time of Cyprian’s arrest in June, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Bellevue Ofc. Seth Tyler tells the Reporter one victim was forced to work 18-hour days, servicing up to 15 clients at $200 a session.

Cyprian was indicted on two counts of sex trafficking through force, fraud and coercion and two counts of transportation for the purpose of prostitution through coercion and enticement. He is set to be transferred to federal custody and arraigned in about two weeks. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to life in prison, if convicted on the sex trafficking charges and up to 20 years in prison and three years of supervised release for the transportation charges. “This case is yet another example of the Bellevue Police Department working with Federal prosecutors to address the issue of human sex trafficking,” said Bellevue Police Chief Jim Montgomery in the news release. “We will continue to work hand in hand with our partners, both at the federal level as well as locally, to address this important issue.”

The Mountlake Terrace Police Department and FBI assisted the BPD with its investigation.