Pennsylvania- In June 2006, a new airline, CQ Air, was preparing to announce plans to provide service from Harrisburg to destinations throughout the Northeast. CQ Air opened an office at Harrisburg International Airport and advertised for pilots and other personnel.

But the announcement never came, and the airline never got off the ground. On Friday, federal prosecutors said the airline was a ruse used as a cover for a multistate, Internet prostitution ring operated by a Bucks County couple.

Roger Sedlak, 47, and his wife, Marianna Sedlak, 40, of Hilltown Township were indicted by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg and charged with operating an escort service that drew clients to hotel rooms supposedly being used for airline business.

Each was charged with transporting and causing the transportation in interstate commerce with the intent that the individual engage in prostitution, persuading and enticing an individual to engage in interstate travel for the purpose of prostitution, and conspiracy.

Another woman, Kelli Kaylor, 23, of Illinois, also was charged with the same three crimes.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum of up to 35 years in prison and $750,000 in fines.

Prosecutors said the Sedlaks began operating Diamond Escorts through the Internet in January 2007, drawing women from several states interested in working as escorts, as well as potential customers.

According to the indictment:

Women who applied were required to meet personally with Roger Sedlak, who would ”rate their performance and determine their willingness to engage in sex acts with customers.”

Potential clients submitted personal information online to gain access to the service and were ”registered” so they could be made aware when women were available.

The Sedlaks scheduled the trysts at various hotels in the Harrisburg area and other unidentified locations in other states.

The indictment continues:

Roger Sedlak, pretending to be an executive of CQ Air, rented the rooms using various aliases under the guise of airline business, though the airline was ”non-existent.”

Marianna Sedlak scheduled the appointments and Kaylor became involved in the operation in January, first as a ”scheduler,” then as a prostitute.

The escorts split their earnings with the Sedlaks.

During a detention hearing Thursday in Allentown before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Perkin, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gallagher said Roger Sedlak had prior convictions for theft in Ohio and fraud in Florida. He was also charged last month with promoting prostitution in Albany, N.Y.

According to the court filing, Albany police, alerted by an advertisement on Craigslist, ran a sting operation at a local hotel where Roger Sedlak was with Kaylor on Feb. 24. Police broke into their room, but Sedlak jumped out of a second-floor window and fled.

He was captured two days later at his Hilltown home, where Gallagher said he lived with his wife and with Kaylor in a ”nontraditional relationship.”

Roger Sedlak was turned over to federal prosecutors, who filed a warrant for his arrest. He remains in federal custody.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James Clancy declined to say Friday how prosecutors learned of the prostitution ring. Clancy said Kaylor was arraigned Friday in Harrisburg and released. Marianna Sedlak is scheduled to be arraigned next week.

The FBI and Internal Revenue Service were involved in the investigation.