Forced Criminality2011
United States US
Rogelio Serrano-Lara, 21, or Matamoros, Mexico, , appeared before U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen on Nov. 15, 2011. Judge Hanen sentenced Serrano-Lara to 120 months in federal prison for his role in an alien smuggling/transportation conspiracy According to court documents, on Sept. 26, 2011 as part of the sentencing hearing, the government presented six witnesses in support of an upward departure of the U.S. sentencing guidelines. Among the witnesses that testified was a 29-year-old woman from El Salvador who stated she was raped by Serrano-Lara. Additional testimony was presented by her daughter and law enforcement officials. Serrano-Lara faced a maximum of 37 months in prison based on the U.S. sentencing guidelines, but upon hearing from the government's witnesses previously and the defense on Oct. 31, 2011 the judge enhanced his sentencing to 120 months. Serrano-Lara pleaded guilty on June 9. 2011 to transporting an alien within the United States. On April 27, 2011 during Serrano-Lara's plea hearings, the government's evidence indicated that ICE HSI received information concerning a stash house used for harboring illegal aliens. Upon attempting a consensual search of a residence on Sybil Street in Brownsville, multiple subjects fled, but agents managed to arrest 13 illegal aliens. Further investigation led to the indictment of Hector Josue Velasquez-Cruz, 29, of Honduras, for concealing or harboring a certain illegal alien for commercial advantage and private financial gain. According to court documents, Velasquez-Cruz admitted to being the caretaker of the residence for four months in exchange for passage to Houston. At the time of his arrest, 34 illegal aliens had arrived and departed from the stash house during the 17 days Velasquez-Cruz had served as caretaker of the Sybil residence. The investigation also revealed that Yered Esquivel-Medina, 23, of Michoacan, Mexico, had arrived at the residence on the date of the apprehensions. He served as the brush guide for the illegal aliens during their trip to Houston by guiding them around the U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint. Through interviews, the agents learned that the 29-year-old woman and her family had traveled by bus to Reynosa, Mexico, crossed the river on the following day, and were eventually transported to the Sybil residence by Serrano-Lara. Upon arrival at the Sybil residence, Serrano-Lara patted them down one by one and robbed them of their money. Later, when the woman's 21-year-old niece and 13-year-old daughter began to cry, Serrano-Lara threatened to kill them and told them he was with the Zetas. Court records revealed, the El Salvadorian woman was in the kitchen on her second day at the Sybil residence when Serrano-Lara pulled her into the smaller bedroom and told her to surrender herself to him. When she refused, he threatened to rape her daughter instead. She explained how she felt she had no choice and Serrano-Lara proceeded to sexually assault her. During the investigation of Serrano-Lara, other illegal aliens reported that he had robbed them of their money as they arrived at the residence and were transported in the trunk of the vehicle. Velasquez-Cruz pleaded guilty on June 9 to harboring an illegal alien and was sentenced last month to 15 months in prison. Esquivel-Medina pleaded guilty on July 27 to conspiracy to transport and harbor an alien within the United States. He is pending sentencing for Dec. 15. All three men have been in custody since their arrest.
Sex Trafficking2011
South Africa ZA
Law enforcement raided a brothel in Cape Town which was being run by two Chinese women as part of a crime syndicate. The Captonian girl had responded to a job offer to be a masseuse, which had resulted in her working as a prostitute for the two traffickers. The other two Chinese victims had responded to a job offer just a few weeks before, where after they had been flown to Mozambique and driven over the South African border. The trafficker then took their passports away and told them that they were expected to repay a debt of R30 000. The girls were terrified, and had been told that if they talked to police or any men in uniform, the police would beat them and sell them to a black township where they would then be killed. One of the girls had her boyfriend in China deposit 30,000 into the bosses’ account hoping that by paying her debt the boss would let her go, but she still wouldn't let her leave. The other girl tried to send an SOS to the chinese consulate from a cell phone, but she got no response. The girls are totally uneducated and spoke no english.
CSEC2011
United States US
Richard Costanzo, 45, of Carter Lake, Iowa, was sentenced on November 4, 2011, to 96 months in prison by Chief United States District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon, in Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. Costanzo previously pled guilty to Conspiracy to commit various prostitution offenses during 1997 to 2009; three counts of Using a facility of interstate commerce to promote prostitution; one count of Transportation with intent to promote prostitution; and two counts of Money laundering. Following a hearing on October 12 and 13, 2011, Judge Bataillon had found that Mr. Costanzo knowingly caused a minor to engage in prostitution. Evidence presented at that hearing also indicated that Mr. Costanzo had operated his escort business for over 10 years. Mr. Costanzo also pled guilty to witness tampering in a related case. He received a sentence of 96 months for that conviction, to run concurrently. Richard Costanzo is the President of Dream Girls, Inc. a Nebraska corporation. Theresa Costanzo, (the sister of Richard Costanzo), Janna Wasko, (Richard Costanzo’s ex-wife), and Michael Wasko, (the husband of Janna Wasko), are all alleged in an April 2010 indictment to have worked at the business in various capacities. The indictment alleges that Dream Girls, Inc., advertised itself under many different names and held itself out as an escort service but was a front for prostitution. The indictment also alleges at least one of the escorts who worked at the business was under 18 years of age.
CSEC2011
United States US
Janna Wasko, 39, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on December 1, 2011 by Chief United States District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon, in Omaha, Nebraska to a term of six months in the Bureau of Prisons and six months of home confinement. Ms. Wasko previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit various prostitution offenses during 1997 to 2009. Ms. Wasko cooperated with authorities in the prosecution. She testified at a sentencing hearing in October 2011 regarding one of her co-defendants, Richard Costanzo. Following that hearing, Judge Bataillon found that Mr. Costanzo had knowingly caused a minor to engage in prostitution. Mr. Costanzo was later sentenced to 96 months in prison.
Sex Trafficking2011
Philippines PH
As reported by the Republic of the Philippines Department of Labor and Employment, 2011-02-11 http://www.dole.gov.ph/secondpage.php?id=1790 "Arlene Ramos, a.k.a. "Michelle Ramos," "Arlene Lee," or "Arlene Anova" was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt in violation of Section 7(a) of Republic Act No. 8042, or the Migrant Workers Act of 1995; and of human trafficking under Section 4(a) in relation to Sections 3(a) and 10(a) of RA 9208, otherwise known as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003. The case was filed in 2005 after Ramos, who was found to have no license from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), had recruited sisters Aleli T. Wee and Herminia T. Wee for non-existent jobs as food servers in a restaurant in Malaysia. Ramos promised the victims' mother, Jasmine T. Wee, that her daughters will receive the monthly salary of P12,000 each, but said the cost of the recruitment will be through salary deduction equivalent to P3,000.00 for the first four months. Ramos further told the mother not to worry because she (Ramos) will take care of the needed documents. It turned out that Ramos were to sold the sisters to slavery. She first brought them to her house in Catumbal, Cabaluay, Zamboanga City, then to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi where they were forced to board a vessel of the Aleson Shipping Lines which brought them to Sandakan, Malaysia. In Malaysia, the sisters were forced to work as domestic helpers without pay. One of the sisters, Herminia, was forced to become a sex-slave. Afraid to escape because they had no documents, they accepted their fates, but at the close of 2005, they were able to go back to the Philippines. Aleli went home on 03 December while Herminia arrived less than a month later, on 27 December."
Forced Labor2011
United States US
Although the FBI had been investigating Global Horizons for a number of years, when an arrest warrant was served on Orian, it appeared to come as a surprise. Although he was on a business trip to Texas when federal agents descended on his Malibu home, his wife said they handcuffed her and by her account acted aggressively without any justification. Orian denies all the allegations against him, and expressed hope that he would be released on bond by Wednesday, despite a prosecution request that he be held until the end of legal proceedings. Orian was formally charged on Sep. 1 in what federal officials described as the biggest human-trafficking case ever brought by the U.S. government. On Sep. 2, Orian "deceived and evaded federal FBI agents for approximately 24 hours by providing sporadic misleading and conflicting information concerning his location, willingness to surrender in Dallas, and failing to report," government lawyers stated in documents filed with the federal court. They further charged that Orian "flew to Hawaii on another flight to avoid contact with federal agents at the airport." Today Orian is sitting in a Honolulu jail awaiting Judge Leslie Kobayashi's decision on a government request to deny Orian's release on one million dollars bail secured on his exclusive West Moonshadows Drive home in Malibu. Susan Cushman, assistant U.S. attorney for Hawaii, has filed documents stating that Orian is a flight risk, noting that he had used 26 different aliases and four different Social Security numbers in the past. Multiple Court Cases Cushman's request to keep Orian locked up until trial also described numerous violations of the law, according to a filing delivered to the Honolulu court on Sep. 9. Cushman provided the court with a copy of a 2003 report, "Migrant Workers in Israel - A Contemporary Form of Slavery," published by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network and the International Federation for Human Rights. It states that Orian, an Israeli national, took 3,000 dollars from each of 19 Chinese workers for the "privilege" of working in Israel for two years. "By the end of February Mr. Orian owed each of the workers between 2-3 months wages," the report concluded. "Instead of paying the workers, he sent ten armed guards to surprise the workers in their sleep, beat them and drive them to the airport, where they were forcibly deported." In another document filed by Cushman, U.S. Department of Labour Judge William Dorsey concluded on Nov. 30, 2006 that Global Horizons Manpower, Inc. had "willfully and fraudulently represented it had contracts with Taft Farms" in Bakersfield, California to obtain temporary work visas for more than 200 workers between Aug. 1, 2003 and Apr. 30, 2004. Dorsey found that the company had neither a contract nor jobs for the 200 workers. Unable to find them paid employment, Global Horizons fired the workers "for poor performance, when in fact, they were terminated for lack of work," Dorsey wrote in his final decision. He ordered that Orian be barred for three years from bringing guest workers into the U.S. On Sep. 7, 2007, Philipda Modrakee, a U.S. Department of Labour investigator, filed a report on 156 Global Horizons workers employed at the Maui Pineapple Farm in Hawaii. Modrakee estimated that Global Horizons owed 459,256 dollars in fines for failure to pay wages at the minimum rate and on time, for illegally deducting money from the workers' paycheques for housing, and for failing to provide them with transportation to their work sites.
CSEC2011
United States US
Robert Lewis Young aka “Blue Diamond”, DR grey Kimmel, and Jody Spears. Young transported juveniles from Hawaii to Chicago and Detroit. Young was sentenced to 25 years in prison; 5 years supervised release, and ordered to pay $67,000 in child support for his 12 children. On Oct. 30, 2007, one of Young’s pimp partners, Jody Spears, was sentenced to eight years. On May 29, 2008, Kimmel plead guilty to one count of money laundering and agreed to forfeit $405,000.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
FBI agents say they arrested the 25-year-old male, of Kalamazoo Friday morning outside a hotel near Chicago, where he allegedly brought three females, two of them under the age of 18, from Michigan to engage in prostitution. Agents say Delaney thought he was bringing the girls to a bachelor party at the hotel, where they would engage in sexual activity with ten to twelve men, and charge between $150 and $300 per customer for various sexual acts, but was actually a sting operation to arrest Delaney following a long-term investigation. Agents say the three females were 16, 17 and 18 years old.
CSEC2011
United States US
33 year old male, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to sex trafficking a minor, was sentenced to 15 years and eight months. The trafficker convinced a 13 year old girl from Marion, Illinois to run away to Chicago with him. There the trafficker forced her to prostitute herself. He allowed his cousin to rape her. And with the help of two of his “associates” held the girl down and branded her stomach with a tattoo of his middle name. From Chicago she was trafficked to Memphis, Tennessee. There she was able to contact her mother and inform her she was being forced into prostitution. Her mother called Memphis police who arrested the trafficker and took the young girl to Juvenile Detention as a runaway. The FBI later took over the case. The girl also informed the FBI of another 14 year old girl who the trafficker forced into prostitution. The young girl helped her escape. However, the trafficker has not been charged with exploiting anyone else.
CSEC2011
United States US
Datqunn Sawyer, 32, was convicted November 21, 2011 of running a sex trafficking ring in which nine victims were forced into prostitution. The conviction came after a federal jury deliberated for several hours beginning November 18, 2011, according to a press release issued by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Sawyer was convicted after a two-week trial of 10 counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors by force. During the trial, officials said that Sawyer acted as a pimp who preyed on vulnerable victims including girls who were young, homeless, or runaways, officials said. Officials said eight of the victims were between 13 and 17. Sawyer used violence and threats of violence to exploit them sexually, knowing they were minors, officials said. Six victims testified during the trial that Sawyer recruited and groomed the victims by initially concealed that he was a pimp but promised riches and glamour if they stayed with him, officials said. He ran the ring between 2006 and 2010, officials said. He convinced the victims that he loved them and wanted to be in a long-term romantic relationship, according to officials. Sawyer also used threats and beatings to enforce a rigid set of rules that left him in control of the victims, officials said.To maintain control he had sex with the victims and impregnated three of them, officials said. Sawyer even gave the victims nicknames beginning with "P" including Precious, Paradise, Pooh, Peaches, because his own nickname was "P-Child". He also had them call him "Daddy" and had his nickname tattooed on their arms. If they spoke back to him or disrespected him he threatened them or beat them, officials said. He also forbade them from speaking with or even looking at other men except for clients, officials said. “Pooh”, whose real name is Angelique, was soon put on the streets to prostitute herself, and even given a quota – she had to have sex with five to 15 men every day, she testified. Sometimes, when she had a “good day,” she said she was rewarded with McDonald’s. As the months wore on, there was one day, after Sawyer dropped her off at the so-called “track” along Cicero Avenue that she testified she just couldn’t do it. She took off her high heels, sat down on the concrete and wept, she said. That’s when she said Sawyer appeared from the alley. “You stupid bitch, you’re supposed to be making my money!” she said he snapped at her. He grabbed her discarded heel and beat her head with it until she started bleeding, she said. She ran off to her grandmother’s house. But like many of the girls who lived in an apartment with Sawyer at Augusta Boulevard and Pulaski Road on the city’s West Side, Angelique returned to Sawyer. Two other men, Kevin Sharp, 53, and Waymond Orr, 33, who worked as drivers and security guards for Sawyer pleaded guilty before Sawyer's trial. Sawyer paid Sharp and Orr in cash and gave them clothes, food, and housing, in exchange for driving victims to and from sexual encounters on the street, referred to as “working the track,” including various locations on and around Cicero Avenue. Other locations were arranged through online advertisements, such as on Craigslist and similar web sites. Sharp and Orr watched victims to make sure they were not arrested or “stolen” by another pimp. On occasion, Sawyer told Sharp and Orr to watch victims and make sure they did not leave while Sawyer was away from the house. Both Sharp and Orr knew about Sawyer’s rules and were present when Sawyer beat his victims.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
The trafficker was originally charged on August 8, 2010 following arrest with one count of involuntary servitude, a Class X felony; one felony count of trafficking of persons for labor or services; one count of unlawful restraint; one count of pandering; one count of possession of a controlled substance – heroin; and one count of possession of a controlled substance – cocaine. He was convicted May 3, 2011 following a three day jury trial on felony charges of Involuntary Servitude, Trafficking in Persons for Forced Labor or Services and Pandering and faced up to 30 years in prison. His final sentencing by Cook County Judge William lacy was an 18 year prison term. This is the second time this year the Sheriff’s Vice Unit has charged someone for human trafficking, but he was the first person convicted in Cook County under the updated laws against human trafficking. Sheriff Dart thanked the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Human Trafficking Unit for their assistance in the case. His conviction was the result of efforts by State's Attorney Alvarez's new Human Trafficking Initiative Unit, which worked in cooperation in this case with Cook County Sheriff's Police. "Today's sentence represents a significant achievement in our new efforts to investigate and prosecute the crime of human trafficking, which is occurring in our own backyard," said State's Attorney Anita Alvarez in a release today. “Human trafficking is a problem that is becoming more prevalent in our communities and it is a crime that no woman or child should be subjected to,” said Alvarez. “We will continue to aggressively prosecute offenders who are forcing victims to sell themselves and help victims seek the help they need.”
CSEC2011
United States US
On July 16, 2009, Randal G. Jennings, 43, of Chillicothe, MO pleaded guilty to the commercial sex trafficking of children. Jennings admitted that he attempted to recruit five child victims to work for him as prostitutes. After recruiting the girls to motel rooms, he had the children pose for sexually explicit photos, which he used to advertise the children for sexual services on Internet Web sites. Jennings pimped out the girls for years, including one victim who was prostituted from the ages of 14 to 17. Jennings considered himself a "nice pimp," according to the Star. 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. "I did research on human sex trafficking, and this doesn't fit," Jennings said. "What I did barely qualifies for it." Jennings 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.
Forced Labor2011
Brazil BR
Original source translated using googletranslate.com: 6 workers were rescued from a farm in Claudia, Mato Grosso. The workers had been hired informally for approx. 2 months, and were promised $25 per hectare of land cleared for cattle grazing. The accommodation consisted of two canvas tents and mattresses. The employer did not provide transport from the accommodation to the farm. Food was prepared in a wood stove which had been made by the workers. The workers drank water from a stream which did not pass through any filtering system. There were also no toilet facilities. It was also reported that pesticides were exposed in an open shed which was less than 30 meters from the housing.
CSEC2011
United States US
On February 20, 2009, the Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force (“MATCH,”)established an undercover operation at a hotel in the Northern District of Georgia, for the purpose of rescuing minors being caused to engage in prostitution. An undercover task force officer made a date for sex with a girl based upon her advertisement found in the erotic services section of Craigslist. The girl, advertised as “Mya” and 19, who appeared naked in the advertisement, looked underage. Upon arriving at the hotel, “Mya” met with the undercover agent, made an offer of prostitution services, and was arrested. Investigators subsequently identified “Mya” as a 16-year-old child. The advertisement of “Mya” had been placed on the Internet website by another individual at the direction of Pressley. Pressleyknew that “Mya” was a minor, having known the child since she was 15 years old. In September 2008, Atlanta Police were called to Grady Hospital regarding a 17-year-old female who had come to the hospital for treatment. Investigation into the erotic services section of Craigslist.com revealed that beginning in April 2009, a photograph of this minor was located posting sexual services in Atlanta by Pressley. At the time of the postings, the girl was 17 years old.
CSEC2011
United States US
Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that Gathings, pleaded guilty in federal court on October 12, 2011 to selling a child victim into prostitution. Gathings admitted that in 2009 he recruited a homeless minor to engage in prostitution for his financial benefit. Gathings provided housing for the minor victim, but took her earnings after requiring that she sell herself for sex. After discharging a sawed-off shotgun in his front yard, Gathings was incarcerated in state custody. During this time of incarceration, he continued to sell the minor victim through the assistance of an organized prostitution ring called Aleesha Angels. Gathings had the minor victim provide him with her prostitution earnings to assist him with bond and later to provide him with funding for his prisoner’s account. Under the terms of the October 12, 2011 plea agreement, Gathings is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office. Brandy Key, also known as Brandy Wheeler, 39, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty on October 19, 2011 before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to the charge contained in a March 1, 2011, federal indictment. By pleading guilty, Key admitted that she operated a prostitution ring that assisted and profited from the coerced sex trafficking of a child. Key handled the minor victim while Gathings was in custody and sold her for sex on his behalf. This included, but was not limited to, scheduling her appointments with customers and advertising her for sex acts on the Internet. Under the terms of today’s binding plea agreement, Key is subject to a minimum sentence of three years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing for Key will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
Nathaniel Roberts, 35, known as Nay Nay, was sentenced to 70 months in prison while Tavoris Roberts, 27, known as Sug, and Shermaine Aiden, 31, known as Tink, were each sentenced to 41 months, according to the release issued Monday. The men were sentenced December 2, 2011. Each of the men were indicted on Nov. 17, on one count of conspiracy to commit human trafficking involving force or coercion, and all pleaded guilty to the charge, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Patrick Bullock, 34, also of Columbia, was previously sentenced in September to 63 months in prison for the same offense. Johnny Turrentine, aka T-Tine, 37, also of Columbia, will be sentenced on Jan. 23, 2012 for his role in the conspiracy, according to the release. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that Nathaniel Roberts was the self-proclaimed “mastermind” of the prostitution operation, and that the group was known as the Wolf Pack. Nathaniel Roberts called regular meetings of the organization, during which he discussed police activity, gave recommendations on avoiding law enforcement, and discussed money. Between Sept. 2008 and Oct. 2010, several female victims of the organization’s human trafficking enterprise suffered violent assaults by the men for, among other reasons, keeping extra money charged to clients and not reporting it to Roberts. One victim was kicked in the torso, causing her lung to collapse, and during another assault, Roberts choked her to the point of unconsciousness, according to the press release. Another victim was hospitalized in June, 2010, after Roberts assaulted her and fractured bones in her face, according to the release.
Sex Trafficking2011
Denmark DK
Copenhagen Police received a message from the Lithuanian police through Europol that a Lithuanian woman was being held hostage somewhere in Copenhagen and being forced to prostitute herself. Another two days passed before Copenhagen Police were able to locate the address where she was being held. “We got a description of the building that she was being held in from Europol. With a little local knowledge and some people watching on the street, we discovered the place,” Trine Møller Andersen, who leads the Copenhagen Police’s anti-human trafficking efforts, told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. The woman was found in a wretched, cockroach-infested building. But, according to Andersen, she had not been physically harmed and had been given food and water. When police finally found the woman, she handed them a hand-written note. It read – in halting English – that she was being held as a sex slave, that she could not speak English, and that she needed help.
Sex Trafficking2011
Czechia CZ
The law enforcement in Czech Republic had a year long investigation going on, in the process of this when the women were rescued there was charges laid where. These charges are soliciting sexual services-pimping- leading to human trafficking as the women were forced into there jobs. This information can be found in the article. http://www.ceskapozice.cz/en/news/society/police-arrest-gang-pimping-and-human-trafficking
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
The victim had been contacted approximately 3 weeks prior to the date of the investigation by a male known to her as “Big Red,” asking if she wanted to make money as a prostitute. She joined “Big Red” at his houset in Denver, where she was placed under the authority of “Carmell,” held down on a bed, and tattooed with “Carmell” on her chest. While she was at the house, “Carmell” and the suspect used a website and telephone service called “LiveLinks” to arrange sexual dates. “Carmell” also forced the victim to wear lingerie and a wig and pose for pictures, which were posted online. The victim relates that she was expected to earn at least $100 per day. While at the house, the victim had four separate “dates” in which she performed sex acts for money. All sex acts took place in the “sex room,” which was right across from the suspect’s room. The suspect handled all the money, and the victim received no monetary compensation. Until June 14, 2011, the victim was a minor (only 17 years old). Her age was known to the other residents of the house, as they held an 18th birthday party for her. On June 15, 2011, the victim attempted to leave the house after a verbal dispute broke out, in which the victim was accused of not cleaning the house. As she was attempting to leave, was assaulted by the suspects. The victim was able to walk to another house on the street, where she was able to call police.
CSEC2011
United States US
Timothy Wayne Lee, age 45, formerly of Denver, Colorado was sentenced late today to serve 180 months (15 years) in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn for sex trafficking of a child and aiding and abetting. Lee was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on September 30, 2010. He pled guilty before Judge Blackburn to charges from both the District of Colorado and the Eastern District of California on July 12, 2011. He was sentenced December 2, 2011. According to court documents, beginning in 2003 and ending in 2009, Lee was responsible for the sex trafficking of minors who had not yet attained the age of 18. Lee did knowingly transport minors who had not attained the age of 18 across state lines. Timothy Wayne Lee pleaded guilty in July to two counts of sex trafficking of a child stemming from cases in Colorado and California. According to the plea deal, Lee coerced girls as young as 16 to come work for him as prostitutes and provided them with drugs.Both girls were runaways when Lee met them. Lee, 45, has had a string of prostitution-related arrests, according to his plea agreement. In 2002, he was fined for soliciting prostitution in Denver. In 2003, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail on a prostitution charge. In 2010, he was sentenced to three years in prison in Tennessee in a prostitution case. And his federal plea bargain will result in the dismissal of state prostitution charges in New Mexico. As part of his plea agreement, Lee admitted to advertising the girls on the internet and charging $200 an hour. All of the money went back to Lee.Authorities said Lee also used at least five adult women as prostitutes.
CSEC2011
United States US
case was investigated by the FBI’s Innocence Lost initiative with the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation-Obscenity Section and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Child Labor2011
United States US
Keith Goodwin was arrested for producing child pornography, and during the search of his residence three victims of child prostitution were rescued. Goodwin was sentenced to over 9 years in prison.
CSEC2011
United States US
Anderson Byron Walker, Jeremiah Collins, Andy Wyzell, McArthur Harris abducted a 15-year-old female from Howell, Michigan, and transported her to Atlanta, Georgia. Walker sexually assaulted the victim and forced her into prostitution. Walker was charged with one count of transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Walker was sentenced over 6 years in prison. Walker is also serving two 7-year terms and six 20-year terms in Oklahoma State prison on eight counts to include: Assault; Battery; Kidnapping; and Rape.
Forced Labor2011
United States US
The trafficker compelled two girls, a 15 year-old and a 16 year-old, into prostitution – and he collected the profits that resulted. The trafficker allegedly used his cellphone to take pictures of the two girls and then posted the images on the website, backpage.com, in an advertisement offering sex with the girls in return for a fee. The Trafficker allegedly drove the girls to hotels and motels in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk counties where they engaged in sex with johns who had arranged a meeting through the trafficker using the telephone or email. The trafficker also allegedly had sex with the 15-year-old girl several times, prosecutors alleged.