HENRICO, Va. – Vladimir Tarabay, the bail bondsman accused of forcible sodomy, abduction and solicitation of prostitution from his clients, faced a circuit court judge Tuesday.
Two more victims have come forward, which brings the total number of victims to more than 20 women in this case.
The alleged crimes came to light in July when at least two alleged victims came forward to tell police about the practices of Fast Bail Bonding.
"It's something we've heard of and tried to investigate in the past, but until we got these two women who came forward, and agreed to cooperate, it really started the ball rolling,” Henrico County Sheriff Mike Wade said.
On Tuesday, prosecutors said another victim recently came forward and told investigators Tarabay bonded her out the county jail in 2013.
She said Tarabay put her in handcuffs and drove her back to a hotel on Brook Road, where she was staying at the time.
Prosecutors said he kept her in handcuffs and forced her to perform a sexual act on him to pay off the balance of her bond.
Vladimir Tarabay
The second victim said Tarabay bonded her out of the Henrico jail and then told the woman she could have sex with him in exchange for cash from January to March.
Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Michael Feinmel said those victims and other bail bondsmen helped to pull this case together.
"That's been a big part of this case,” he said. “And it's been really a positive thing we worked in. There's a lot of honest bail bondsman in the area.”
They're very concerned about the stain that this situation has put on their industry,” Feinmel added. “And they're very concerned about helping us.”
Jailhouse phone conversations were previously introduced as evidence, which shed new light on how Tarabay allegedly orchestrated his crimes.
“I want to help you get out. I told you, I want to help you get out,” Tarabay can be heard telling a woman before explaining how she can make a payment.
Detectives said the suspected used code words or phrases other than money in order to pay off the bond.
Tarabay remains behind bars. He goes back to court next week for a preliminary hearing involving six other charges and multiple victims.
