Office on Violence Against Women Launches Center for Changing Our Campus Culture

The Office on Violence Against Women has launched the Center for Changing Our Campus Culture, an online clearinghouse providing prevention and response resources for colleges and universities on sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. The Center provides research, sample campus policies, protocols, best practices and information on how to access training opportunities and technical assistance.

The center will continue to be developed based on input from campus-based experts, campus communities and grassroots groups committed to ending sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. Visit http://www.changingourcampus.org/

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.

Jeremiah Jackson Sentenced to Life Imprisonment

ALBUQUERQUE—This morning a U.S. District Judge sentenced Jeremiah Jackson, 34, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to two terms of life imprisonment, to be served concurrently, for killing two women while attempting to avoid apprehension in the aftermath of a bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales and Carol K.O. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI.

Jackson was arrested on April 6, 2010, shortly after robbing a bank and immediately after a collision that took the lives of Kimberly Aragon-Nunez, a 34-year-old mother of three, and Janice Flores, a 28-year-old mother of two. On May 11, 2010, Jackson was indicted and charged with robbing the New Mexico Bank and Trust branch located at 3002 Louisiana NE in Albuquerque (Bank) on April 6, 2010, and killing Mrs. Aragon-Nunez and Mrs. Flores while attempting to avoid apprehension in the aftermath of the bank robbery.

On August 24, 2011, a federal jury found Jackson guilty of bank robbery and killing the two women while attempting to avoid apprehension in the aftermath of the bank robbery, after a four-day trial. The evidence at trial established that Jackson robbed the Bank, which is located at the corner of Louisiana and Candelaria NE, at approximately 10:00 a.m. on April 6, 2010, by presenting two bank tellers with a note demanding money. After obtaining approximately $2,400 in cash from the two frightened bank tellers, Jackson fled from the Bank in a van he had borrowed earlier in the day. As he fled, the Bank manager was able to note the van’s license plate number and get a description of the vehicle.

An officer of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) soon located Jackson at a convenience store at the corner of Carlisle and Comanche NE using a description of the bank robber and the make and license plate number of the van. However, before the officer could establish a perimeter to box Jackson in, Jackson got back into the van and left the convenience store parking lot. Jackson quickly realized that an officer was following him. When the officer turned on her cruiser’s lights and siren, Jackson did not pull over and surrender but instead tried to evade arrest. Jackson drove south on Carlisle and then west on Interstate 40 at a high rate of speed while the officer followed and called out Jackson’s location over her police radio.

The officer continued to follow Jackson as he exited Interstate 40 and drove down Coors Blvd. SW, but lost sight of him as he sped along toward the intersection of Coors Blvd. and Quail SW. Several witnesses testified about watching Jackson attempt to turn the corner at a high rate of speed, seeing the van drift sideways and then slam into a concrete median. As it struck the median, the van went airborne across an entire lane of traffic before landing on the vehicle occupied by Ms. Aragon-Nunez and Ms. Flores, instantaneously causing their deaths. Instead of attempting to aid his victims or seeking assistance for them, Jackson fled from the scene of the fatal collision. Jackson was apprehended shortly thereafter and made a detailed confession that was presented as part of the evidence against him.

At the sentencing hearing, several members of the Aragon-Nunez and Flores families, including parents, children, and siblings of the deceased, addressed the court and spoke about the impact that Jackson’s crimes had on their lives. Several family members told the judge that they already had been sentenced to a life without their loved ones, and asked the judge to consider that fact in imposing sentence on Jackson.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the APD and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Presiliano Torrez and Raul Torrez.

Jury Convicts Man Who Operated a Sex Trafficking Ring

ATLANTA—After an eight-day jury trial, a federal jury convicted Soloman Manasseh Mustafa, 38, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, for operating a sex trafficking ring in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Mustafa was known for committing violent sexual acts against his victims; binding them with duct tape; taking their identification; and committing other atrocities in order to hold them captive. The jury found Mustafa guilty of sex trafficking, kidnapping, transporting women across state lines for prostitution, document servitude, and enticement of a minor for sexual activity. Mustafa and his co-defendant Kalandra Annette Wallace, 25, of Jonesboro, Georgia, were indicted by a federal grand jury on May 10, 2011. Wallace pleaded guilty on October 11, 2011, and testified against Mustafa.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said of the case, “This defendant brutally assaulted young women to force them into acts of prostitution in three states. While all of the victims managed to escape from the defendant, many were beaten, raped, handcuffed, and forced to snort cocaine by the defendant and his co-conspirator. Now, he faces a lengthy sentence in federal prison.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta, said, “Combating human trafficking begins with an aggressive investigation and culminates with a relentless prosecution. Today’s guilty verdict in one of the most heinous human trafficking matters to be addressed in this region is most heartfelt by those directly involved. The FBI is proud of the role that it played in removing an individual such as Mr. Mustafa from the streets where he preyed on and exploited these vulnerable women, to include juveniles.”

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 and Backpage, luring them into prostitution in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Mustafa and Wallace physically assaulted many of the victims, preventing them from leaving hotels or apartments and forcing 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 message,s 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.

The sex trafficking, kidnapping, and enticement of a minor charges each carry a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

Sentencing has been set for September 19, 2012, at 10 a.m. before United States District Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr.

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.

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.

Assistant United States Attorneys Yonette Buchanan and Nekia S. Hackworth are prosecuting the case.