Man Sentenced to 34 Years for Pandering and Pimping of a Child

GOLDEN, CO—Victor Everitt Sanders, born December 26, 1985, of Aurora, was sentenced today to 34 years in prison, plus five years of parole, for forcing a 16-year-old girl to prostitute herself for him.

On January 11, 2011, investigators received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that led them to Sanders through a 16-year-old victim who was advertising services on a website.

The tip was forwarded to a special agent with the FBI and a detective from the Aurora Police Department who are both assigned to the FBI Safe Streets Task Force. Lakewood Police, who are also members of the Safe Streets Task Force, conducted an undercover prostitution sting on January 21. They took the 16-year-old teen into custody. The teen told investigators that Sanders was her pimp. He had forced her to post ads and then go with strangers and commit sex acts and then bring the money back to him. Investigators learned that Sanders made her dependent upon him. He fed her little and bought sexually explicit clothing for her to wear. He beat her, raped her, belittled her, and in other ways verbally abused her.

The investigation led to a warrant being issued for the arrest of Victor Sanders on January 24.

The young woman appeared in court today, with her grandmother, for the sentencing hearing. She talked little about what Sanders had done or taken from her. She instead told the judge that she was no longer a victim; that she was victorious ,and now she was free. She told the court that she went to prom this year, and that she graduated from high school. She smiled as she told the court that at the beginning of September, she moved into the dorm of her new four-year college.

“These cases are extremely difficult,” says District Attorney Scott Storey. “The young victim ran away from home at 13 to escape abuse and a difficult home environment. No child wants to prostitute themselves. For them, it is a matter of survival. In this case, there is good news. With the help and support of victim advocates and our Crimes Against Children team, this young woman is doing well and is healing and moving on with her life. Others are not so fortunate.”

“This sentence should send a clear message to those who victimize our nation’s children. Law enforcement, prosecutors, and our communities will come together to protect our young people and hold accountable those who exploit the innocence of young victims,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge James Yacone. “I would like to thank the Lakewood Police Department, the Aurora Police Department, the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office for their leadership and collaboration with the Innocence Lost Unit of our FBI Safe Streets Task Force.”

The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on one count of child trafficking, and they returned a not guilty verdict on one count of sexual assault.

On July 24 a Jefferson County jury found Sanders guilty of:

■Pandering of a child

■Pimping of a child

■Procurement of a child

■Contributing to the delinquency of a child

■Two violent crime counts

District Judge Randall Aarp said that this case was “replete with violence and assault.” The judge also said that he had seen an interview with Sanders that the jury had not seen, and that throughout that interview and this case, he had seen no remorse whatsoever, nor had Sanders appeared to accept any responsibility for his actions. Sanders has one prior felony conviction and must register as a sex offender.

This press release originated from the Office of the District Attorney, First Judicial District, which handles Jefferson and Gilpin Counties, Colorado. The public information officer is Pam Russell at 303-271-6905.

Man Who Operated Sex Trafficking Ring Sentenced to Life in Federal Prison

Soloman Mustafa Used Violent Sex Acts, Duct Tape and Handcuffs, and Violence to Prevent Women from Escaping

ATLANTA—The operator of an Atlanta sex trafficking ring who committed violent sexual acts against his victims, bound them with duct tape, took their identification, and committed other atrocities in order to hold them captive was sentenced today to life in prison by United States District Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr.

Soloman Manasseh Mustafa, 38, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was convicted on July 18, 2012, after an eight-day jury trial of sex trafficking, kidnapping, transporting women across state lines for prostitution, document servitude, and enticement of a minor for sexual activity. His co-defendant, Kalandra Annette Wallace, 25, of Jonesboro, Georgia, pleaded guilty on October 11, 2011, and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said of the case, “This defendant brutally assaulted young women and forced them into acts of prostitution in three states. Many of the victims were beaten, raped, handcuffed, and forced to snort cocaine by the defendant and his co-conspirator. Today’s sentence demonstrates that sex traffickers will pay a heavy price for victimizing young women.”

Ricky Maxwell, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, said, “Today’s sentencing removes a violent predator from the streets and prevents him from harming and exploiting others. The FBI’s Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force (MATCH) will continue its hard work in identifying, investigating, and bringing forward for prosecution individuals such as Mustafa who prey on others in such a violent manner.”

According to the indictment and evidence presented during trial: Mustafa and co-defendant Wallace recruited and enticed young women via advertisements on Internet sites such as Craigslist.com and Backpage.com, luring them into prostitution in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Once Mustafa and Wallace began working with the women, however, they physically assaulted many of the victims, prevented them from leaving hotels or apartments, and forced them to engage in commercial sex acts.

During trial, the government presented evidence that two victims were bound with duct tape and placed in a closet. These victims, still bound with duct tape, were ultimately taken against their will to Homewood, Alabama, for the purpose of having sex with men. Other victims were forced to have sex with men and all the money earned by the victims was required to be turned over to Mustafa and Wallace. According to the evidence, one victim had a gun pointed at her head and was ordered to remove her clothes and stand naked in a corner of the room. Other women were forced to inhale a white powdery substance that appeared to be cocaine. Two victims were handcuffed to the bed to keep them from leaving.

The evidence also showed that Mustafa communicated via text messaging with a young girl whom he believed to be 14 years old. In those text messages, he instructed the juvenile to send him photos of herself. Once Mustafa saw the photos, he told the juvenile that she could be his sex slave, and he went to the juvenile’s home to pick her up. The juvenile left her home by tying bed sheets together and climbing out the window. Fortunately, Mustafa let the young girl go in a subdivision close to her home.

Mustafa and Wallace also took the identification, telephones, and wallets of some of the victims, with the purpose of making the victims feel trapped. After one victim escaped, Mustafa and Wallace kept her identification and used it to rent hotel rooms and a house.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the FBI’s Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes the Atlanta Police Department, the Cobb County Police Department, the Fulton County Police Department, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Gwinnett County Police Department, the City of Marietta Police Department, and the Sandy Springs Police Department. Other departments that assisted in the investigation are the Holly Springs Police Department, the DeKalb County Police Department, the Clayton County Police Department, and the Homewood (Alabama) Police Department.

The United States Attorney’ Office maintains information and resources about human trafficking on its website at http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/community/humantrafficking/index.html. If anyone has any information about any human trafficking case, they are encouraged to report that information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation at 404-679-9000.

Assistant United States Attorneys Yonette Buchanan, Nekia S. Hackworth, and Susan Coppedge prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Information Office at USAGAN.Pressemails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.

Area Man Charged Arrested and Charged with Transporting a Minor for Prostitution

ST. LOUIS—Reginald Williams was arrested by FBI and St. Louis County officers Friday afternoon on a charge of interstate transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in prostitution. He appeared today in federal court for his preliminary and detention hearings.

According to the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, on September 12, 2012, Collinsville, Illinois police received a report regarding a missing 16-year-old girl who was being forced to work as a prostitute by one or several adult males. The person reporting the information was familiar with online postings on the website Saint Louis backpages.com in which photographs of the girl were used to offer her services for commercial sex. The telephone number associated with the advertisement was recognized to be used by “Reggie,” who was later identified as Reginald Williams. Detectives reviewed the advertisement, which contained sexually suggestive language and listed the poster’s age to be 20 years old. However, Illinois police were able to confirm that she was born in 1996.

Investigators also learned that a second minor female was believed to be in the 16-year-old’s company at a hotel in St. Louis County. Detectives from Illinois then contacted the St. Louis FBI and the St. Louis County Police Department.

On September 13, 2012, an undercover detective called the phone number listed in the online advertisement to set up a paid sex “date.” When officers arrived at the hotel, they observed a black male later identified as Reginald Williams exit the same hotel room where the two minor females were eventually found. Williams was arrested on the parking lot. When officers went to the room they found both girls, ages 16 and 17. Thereafter, officers determined that Williams transported the 16-year-old girl to the St. Louis area and Chicago with the intent she engage in prostitution.

Williams, 27, from the St. Louis, Missouri area, was charged in a criminal complaint with one violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2423(a), the interstate transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in prostitution.

This charge carries a penalty range of 10 years to life in prison. In determining the actual sentence, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

As is always the case, charges set forth in a criminal complaint are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Three Defendants Arrested for Allegedly Transporting Minor Girls from Iowa to Chicago to Engage in Prostitution

CHICAGO—Three defendants have been arrested in Iowa and Ohio on federal charges filed in Chicago for allegedly engaging in sex trafficking of three minor girls they transported earlier this year from Iowa City to Chicago for prostitution, federal law enforcement officials announced today. The defendants were each charged with one count of conspiracy to transport minors across state lines to engage in prostitution in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The charges allege that the defendants knew that coercion, force, and the threat of force would be used to cause the victims to engage in commercial sex acts.

Defendant Malik McKee, 19, and his sister, Shuntina McKee, 23, both of Iowa City and formerly of suburban Country Club Hills, Illinois, were arrested yesterday in Iowa City. The third defendant, Willie Woods, 41, of Toledo, Ohio, and formerly of Iowa City, was arrested Friday in Toledo. The government is seeking to have all three defendants transferred to Chicago in custody to face the charges here.

The arrests and charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; William C. Monroe, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The FBI and CPD conducted the investigation, in coordination with the Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force. Federal prosecutors and law enforcement authorities in the Southern District of Iowa and the Northern District of Ohio also provided assistance.

According to the complaint, the investigation began on April 25, 2012, when one of the victims—Minor A, who was 14 at the time—snuck out of a room at a hotel in the 9100 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago after others were asleep and called her mother in Iowa. The girl’s mother called the Chicago Police and officers responded to the hotel and contacted federal authorities.

The complaint states that online advertisements posted on various Internet sites in Chicago and elsewhere, hotel records, bus records, and other evidence show that the defendants acted as pimps and posted online ads promoting prostitution of the three victims—Minors A, B, and C, all from Iowa and ages 14, 16 and 16, respectively, at the time. In April this year, Malik McKee and Woods allegedly purchased bus tickets for the victims and transported them from Iowa City to Chicago to engage in prostitution. All three defendants allegedly benefitted financially from the charged conspiracy.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Church and Bethany Biesenthal.

Sex trafficking of minors carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Final Defendant Sentenced in Child Sex Trafficking and Prostitution Ring

Three Anchorage Residents Imprisoned for Sex Trafficking of Children, Promoting Prostitution, and Tax Fraud

ANCHORAGE—U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that Sidney Lamar Greene, 41, was sentenced to 144 months in prison for attempted child sex trafficking and for conspiring to defraud the government. Greene was also ordered to pay $127,322.39 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and will serve 84 months of supervised release after completing his term of incarceration. Co-defendant Keyana “Koko” Marshall was sentenced in November 2011, to 30 months in prison, to be followed by 36 months of supervised release, for conspiring to commit sex trafficking of children by force, fraud, and coercion. Co-defendant Rand Hooks was sentenced in February 2012 to 12 months in prison, to be followed by 36 months of supervised release, for promoting prostitution.

The case against Sabil Mumin Mujahid was dismissed in October 2011, in light of his 50-year combined sentence in two other federal cases, which related to him assaulting other prison inmates while being incarcerated for a weapons conviction.

In December 2009, these four defendants were indicted in a 41-count superseding indictment, which included charges of sex trafficking of children and women by force, promoting prostitution, possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child, tampering with a victim, conspiring to defraud the government by filing false tax returns, and identity theft. Not all four defendants were named in each count.

Greene pled guilty in September 2011 to single counts of attempted sex trafficking of children and conspiracy to defraud the government. Greene used Internet websites such as Craigslist.com and Backpage.com to prostitute children and women and used intimidation to enforce Mujahid’s orders. He also advertised, recruited, and sent women on “dates” for commercial sex acts, collected the proceeds of those acts, and distributed the proceeds to Mujahid and Mujahid’s creditors.

Marshall also posted advertisements online and collected the proceeds of prostitution on behalf of Mujahid. Hooks knowingly allowed the conspiracy to operate on his property and also traded sex with victims in exchange for rent discounts.

“The criminal conduct uncovered during this investigation is shocking to our moral senses and should be rooted out of our communities,” said Kenneth J. Hines, the IRS Special Agent in Charge of Alaska. “When innocent children are targeted by organizations whose goal is to turn a profit from their exploitation, IRS will use its financial expertise to help dismantle those organizations. The law enforcement agencies that investigated this case made stopping this human tragedy a top priority.”

The Anchorage Police Department Vice Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation conducted this investigation and were assisted by agents and detectives from the Innocence Lost Task Force and the Alaska Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel R. Cooper, Jr. and Trial Attorney Chantel L. Febus from the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Charges pertaining to minors in this case were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state, and local resources to better identify, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.