Kansas City, MO, United States

A man who ran a ring of underage prostitutes in Kansas City and Overland Park received a sentence of almost 22 years in federal prison for child sex trafficking. But even though Randal G. Jennings, 43, had pleaded guilty to the single human trafficking count last year, the Chillicothe, Mo., man came close to getting another five years added to his sentence by minimizing his role as a pimp at the sentencing hearing. Addressing the judge, Jennings said he thought the girls were college-age students. He also said he placed their ads on Craigslist and another Internet site so they could meet clients in nice hotels, not on the rough streets. He also said prosecutors had overcharged his case. Jennings’ four working prostitutes were 16 or 17 years old when he was arrested in January 2009. Prosecutors also alleged that Jennings had tried to induce a 13-year-old girl to begin working for him, but she declined. In interviews with investigators, the girls said that they paid about 20 percent of their earnings to Jennings, who often drove them to their “dates.” Jennings also took photos of the girls with his cell phone camera and posted the images with their online ads. -------------------- Primary Source: http://www.justice.gov/usao/mow/news2010/jennings.sen.htm Secondary Source: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/06/2285309/man-gets-22-year-sentence-for.html

Location

United States · Kansas City, MO · 2009 (location generalized to protect survivors)

Response & intervention

On July 16, 2009, Jennings pleaded guilty to the commercial sex trafficking of children. Randal G. Jennings, 43, of Chillicothe, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010, to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. The court has taken under advisement the government’s request that Jennings pay $882,650 in restitution to his victims ($176,530 for each of five victims) and will rule on that issue at a later date. Jennings was arrested on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009, following an undercover prostitution sting at a motel in Johnson County, Kan. Responding to an ad on the Internet, an undercover law enforcement officer arranged to meet two girls for sexual activity. Shortly afterward, Jennings dropped off two minor females at the agreed location. The two females, who were each 17 years old, agreed to perform sexual acts for $300. They were taken into protective custody. Jennings returned afterward, driving the same white van in which he had earlier brought the minors to the hotel, and was arrested. They were taken into protective custody by law enforcement. No other aftercare details are noted.

Sources

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