KayfabeMan
10-19-2005, 01:20 PM
Former wrestler indicted in prostitution case
By BILL TORPY. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Hardbody Harrison" was once cannon fodder for
now-defunct World Championship Wrestling, sometimes
playing the bad guy in matches, other times being the
hapless loser.
In real life, Harrison Norris Jr. was a ruthless pimp, federal
authorities allege.
Former wrestler Harrison Norris Jr. is charged with running
a prostitution ring and keeping women imprisoned in his homes.
Norris, 39, is charged with running a prostitution ring,
keeping eight women in sexual slavery through beatings
and sexual assault. The women were virtual prisoners in
two Cartersville homes Norris owned, authorities allege.
Two others — Aimee Allen, 33, of Cartersville, and Cedric
Lamar Jackson, 39, of Chamblee — are also charged.
"From April 2004 to August 2005, the defendants recruited
and sometimes kidnapped young women and then forced
them to engage in prostitution in the Atlanta metropolitan
area for their financial benefit," said an indictment released
Tuesday.
The sculpted and muscular "Hardbody" once had his nickname
etched in the back of his high-top haircut. During a brief court
appearance Tuesday, Norris wore blond cornrows and a scraggly
blond beard. The former wrestler turned "toughman" fighter —
a no-holds-barred style of fighting — told a magistrate he had
just $120 to his name other than the equity in two houses.
Harrison came to the attention of Smyrna police last year
when they were called to a dispute at a clothing store and
were asked for help by three women who said Harrison was
holding them against their will. He was arrested on three
charges of false imprisonment. He bonded out but has not
gone to trial on the charges.
Federal prosecutors say Norris did not stop his alleged
operation after his arrest last year. The indictment alleges
that in June, Norris lured two women, one who was homeless,
to his Cartersville home claiming he would teach them to be
professional wrestlers.
The three defendants are also accused of kidnapping
victims through physical force or befriending them by
paying legal fines or bail for them. Authorities would
release no information about the alleged victims other
than saying none were under 18 years old.
Prosecutors say the crimes rose to the level of federal
offenses because the suspects transported the women
on interstate highways, provided them with condoms
that were manufactured outside Georgia and used mobile
phones. They also allegedly drove some of the women
out of state.
Authorities allege the conspirators would sexually abuse
the women and force them into "parties" at which the
women were forced to have sex with multiple men and
with other women.
Other times they were beaten, officials say.
Norris, a former Army sergeant, wrestled professionally
between 1994 and 1999. Wrestling fan Web sites show
him in a string of losses to the likes of Glacier, Yuji Nagata,
Sick Boy and Disco Inferno.
Victories are seemingly non-existent and in 2000, Norris
and 11 other wrestlers sued the WCW for discrimination,
claiming that African-American and other minority wrestlers
were afforded only bit roles or those of losers.
Attorney Cary Ichter, who represented the wrestlers, said
their job "was to get the daylights beat out of them by someone
who was getting pushed" by the organization. Ichter added Norris was "certainly one of the most talkative of the group. He tends
to draw people's attention."
The lawsuit was settled in 2003 for an undisclosed amount,
Ichter said. "I found myself lost in the shuffle; I was sold into
slavery," Norris said in a story when the suit was filed.
By BILL TORPY. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Hardbody Harrison" was once cannon fodder for
now-defunct World Championship Wrestling, sometimes
playing the bad guy in matches, other times being the
hapless loser.
In real life, Harrison Norris Jr. was a ruthless pimp, federal
authorities allege.
Former wrestler Harrison Norris Jr. is charged with running
a prostitution ring and keeping women imprisoned in his homes.
Norris, 39, is charged with running a prostitution ring,
keeping eight women in sexual slavery through beatings
and sexual assault. The women were virtual prisoners in
two Cartersville homes Norris owned, authorities allege.
Two others — Aimee Allen, 33, of Cartersville, and Cedric
Lamar Jackson, 39, of Chamblee — are also charged.
"From April 2004 to August 2005, the defendants recruited
and sometimes kidnapped young women and then forced
them to engage in prostitution in the Atlanta metropolitan
area for their financial benefit," said an indictment released
Tuesday.
The sculpted and muscular "Hardbody" once had his nickname
etched in the back of his high-top haircut. During a brief court
appearance Tuesday, Norris wore blond cornrows and a scraggly
blond beard. The former wrestler turned "toughman" fighter —
a no-holds-barred style of fighting — told a magistrate he had
just $120 to his name other than the equity in two houses.
Harrison came to the attention of Smyrna police last year
when they were called to a dispute at a clothing store and
were asked for help by three women who said Harrison was
holding them against their will. He was arrested on three
charges of false imprisonment. He bonded out but has not
gone to trial on the charges.
Federal prosecutors say Norris did not stop his alleged
operation after his arrest last year. The indictment alleges
that in June, Norris lured two women, one who was homeless,
to his Cartersville home claiming he would teach them to be
professional wrestlers.
The three defendants are also accused of kidnapping
victims through physical force or befriending them by
paying legal fines or bail for them. Authorities would
release no information about the alleged victims other
than saying none were under 18 years old.
Prosecutors say the crimes rose to the level of federal
offenses because the suspects transported the women
on interstate highways, provided them with condoms
that were manufactured outside Georgia and used mobile
phones. They also allegedly drove some of the women
out of state.
Authorities allege the conspirators would sexually abuse
the women and force them into "parties" at which the
women were forced to have sex with multiple men and
with other women.
Other times they were beaten, officials say.
Norris, a former Army sergeant, wrestled professionally
between 1994 and 1999. Wrestling fan Web sites show
him in a string of losses to the likes of Glacier, Yuji Nagata,
Sick Boy and Disco Inferno.
Victories are seemingly non-existent and in 2000, Norris
and 11 other wrestlers sued the WCW for discrimination,
claiming that African-American and other minority wrestlers
were afforded only bit roles or those of losers.
Attorney Cary Ichter, who represented the wrestlers, said
their job "was to get the daylights beat out of them by someone
who was getting pushed" by the organization. Ichter added Norris was "certainly one of the most talkative of the group. He tends
to draw people's attention."
The lawsuit was settled in 2003 for an undisclosed amount,
Ichter said. "I found myself lost in the shuffle; I was sold into
slavery," Norris said in a story when the suit was filed.