MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. — A woman allegedly forced a teenage runaway to work for a prostitution ring that operated out of hotels in Maple Shade and Mount Laurel.

Michelle Plaza, 29, was arrested Thursday at a Maple Shade motel and charged with promoting prostitution, promoting prostitution while using a child under 18 and employing a juvenile in the commission of a crime.

Authorities claim Plaza used the 16-year-old in a prostitution ring that included 25 to 40 women. They say the teen lived for a time on the streets after running away from her Camden County home in the fall of 2004.

Plaza offered the girl a place to live, but then pressed her into prostitution, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities learned of the prostitution ring in July, after the teen ran away from Plaza and returned home to her parents.

The girl contacted police, and was beaten in Pennsauken by “unknown individuals” shortly afterward, according to authorities.

An investigation continues into the prostitution ring.

The prosecutor’s office says the ring operated for three years in hotels and motels along Route 73 in Maple Shade and Mount Laurel. Business hours were set at 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., with customers charged $125 to $150 per hour.

At one point, Plaza went as far as to run a local newspaper advertisement, in which she described a girl as “sexy and discreet” and said she was “hiring” for $125.

An undercover female detective answered the advertisement and discussed becoming a prostitute with Plaza, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Plaza was being held Saturday on $75,000 bail at a Burlington County corrections facility in Pemberton. She faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted on all charges.