Tulsa Man Sentenced for Coercing a Minor to Engage in Prostitution

 A Tulsa man was sentenced today in federal court for coercing a 16-year-old to engage in sexual acts as part of a sex trafficking ring, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

Dominique Laron Morgan, 25, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison followed by 25 years supervised release for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and for coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.

In a blind plea, Morgan admitted that from April 10 through April 20, 2020, he used his phone and internet to knowingly entice the minor victim to engage in prostitution. He also admitted that he knowingly possessed a firearm to further his marijuana distribution activities.

Also charged in the sex trafficking case were Rontaysha Leann Cox, 27, of Wichita, Kansas, and Treveon Marquise Cato, 23, of Tulsa. In March, Cox pleaded guilty to the sex trafficking of children, and Cato pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

On April 17, 2020, officers with the Tulsa Police Department’s Human Trafficking Vice Unit discovered advertisements for the teenager on a website promoting prostitution and soliciting sex acts in exchange for money. An officer, acting as a john, contacted the victim using the phone number listed and arranged to meet her on April 20. During the appointment, the officer revealed his identity, and the minor victim was taken into protective custody.

Officers learned that Rontaysha Cox had rented the room, and that Cox and two other men left the hotel room in a silver sedan shortly before the scheduled appointment. Cox, Cato, and Morgan were later stopped and ordered out of the sedan. A semi-automatic pistol could be seen from outside of the vehicle wedged between the driver’s seat and center console. Officers subsequently arrested the three, and during a search of the vehicle and the occupants, officers recovered marijuana, phones and the firearm.

An analysis of the phones found conversations between Cox, Morgan and the victim discussing prostitution as well as photos of the victim that constituted child pornography. Also found, were conversations between Morgan and the victim where she told him she was 16 years old.

The Tulsa Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Snow is prosecuting the case.