LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A California man who was convicted of
recruiting and transporting a child from California to Las Vegas, Nevada, to
engage in commercial sex acts was sentenced today to 300 months in federal
prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas Trutanich for the District of Nevada.
After a three-day jury trial in February of 2018, Brandon
Lamar Pruitt, 35, of Compton, California, was found guilty of child sex
trafficking and transportation of a minor for prostitution. He was previously
convicted by a jury of being a felon in possession of a firearm and tampering
with a witness or a victim. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge
Andrew P. Gordon sentenced Pruitt to a term of lifetime supervised release.
Beginning in 2013, Pruitt persuaded and recruited a
14-year-old girl to prostitute for him. Over the course of the following three
years, Pruitt convinced the minor female to stay with him and arranged her
travel from California to Las Vegas to engage in commercial sex acts. He acted
as the victim’s pimp, took photos of her that were posted online for
prostitution dates, and booked hotel rooms for the dates. Pruitt used violent
force and the victim’s romantic feelings for him to coerce and entice the
victim’s compliance. The victim would give him money she earned from working as
a prostitute. After he was arrested, Pruitt tampered with the victim and
attempted to prevent her from cooperating with law enforcement in prosecuting
the federal criminal charges. Furthermore, Pruitt unlawfully possessed two
stolen guns, a Browning .22 caliber buck mark and a Glock .40 caliber, after
sustaining prior felony convictions in California.
The case was investigated by the FBI, Las Vegas Metropolitan
Police Department, and Innocence Lost Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys
Elham Roohani and Christopher Burton prosecuted the case.
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