CHICAGO — A federal jury today convicted a Chicago man on
sex trafficking charges for arranging a commercial sex encounter for a
16-year-old girl that ended in the child’s murder in a south suburban garage.
JOSEPH HAZLEY, 35, was convicted on one count of conspiracy
to engage in sex trafficking of a minor, one count of sex trafficking of a
minor, and four counts of transporting a person across state lines for the
purposes of prostitution.
The conviction is punishable by a maximum sentence of life
in prison. U.S. District Judge Sharon
Johnson Coleman set sentencing for June 4, 2019.
The conviction was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States
Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special
Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
and Eddie Johnson, Chicago Police Superintendent. Substantial assistance was provided by the South
Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Cook County
State’s Attorney’s Office, and Markham Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant
U.S. Attorneys Christopher Parente and Kelly Greening.
Evidence at trial revealed that Hazley posted the girl’s
information in commercial sex advertisements on Backpage.com, and arranged
multiple meetings for her to engage in prostitution. Hazley drove the girl to several meetings in
the Chicago area in December 2016.
One of the meetings occurred in the early morning hours of
Christmas Eve, after a customer had responded to Hazley’s posting. Hazley drove the girl to Markham and waited
in his car a few yards from the garage while she met with the customer. During the encounter, the customer allegedly
murdered the girl.
The suspected customer was subsequently arrested by the
Chicago Police Department and charged with murder in Cook County Criminal
Court.
If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you
are encouraged to call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
at 1-800-843-5678. The hotline is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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