JACKSONVILLE, FL—Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return by a grand jury of two indictments charging individuals in Jacksonville, Florida, with human trafficking offenses. The first indictment charges Clive Sephas Nelson (23, Jacksonville) with the commercial sex trafficking of a minor female, between on or about November 29, 2013 through on or about December 15, 2013, in the Middle District of Florida. Nelson was indicted on January 15, 2014. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The second indictment alleges that, between in or about December 2012 through on or about May 31, 2013, in the Middle District of Florida, Erick George Brooks (29, Jacksonville) committed commercial sex trafficking of an adult female through force and threats of force, fraud, and coercion. The indictment against Brooks was returned on November 14, 2013. He was arrested on December 4, 2013, and is awaiting a trial, currently scheduled for February 3, 2014. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.
Both cases resulted from investigations conducted by a joint human trafficking task force comprised of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Both offenses are charged under the Federal Human Trafficking Statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1591, part of the Trafficking and Violence Protection Act passed by the United States Congress, in 2000.
On December 31, 2013, President Obama issued a proclamation declaring the month of January 2014 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. In that proclamation, the president noted, “As we work to dismantle trafficking networks and help survivors rebuild their lives, we must also address the underlying forces that push so many into bondage. We must develop economies that create legitimate jobs, build a global sense of justice that says no child should ever be exploited, and empower our daughters and sons with the same chances to pursue their dreams.”
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
These cases were investigated by the FBI and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. They will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mac D. Heavener, III.
Showing posts with label sex trafficking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sex trafficking. Show all posts
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
Child Sex Trafficker Sentenced to Nine Years' Imprisonment
BATON ROUGE, LA—Acting United States Attorney Walt Green announced today that U.S. District Judge James Brady sentenced Erick Banks, age 32, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to 108 months’ imprisonment for conspiring to traffic a child in the commercial sex trade. Banks was also sentenced to five years’ supervised release after imprisonment and ordered to pay the victim $1,200 in restitution.
During his guilty plea hearing last year, Banks admitted that in January 2011, he enticed the victim, a 15-year-old girl, to engage in acts of prostitution. Several days earlier, the victim ran away from a Baton Rouge home for teenage girls. Banks placed several ads on an online service often utilized by those in the commercial sex trade. Banks used the moniker “Sinsational” or “Blonde Bunny” to describe the victim in the ads. Banks instructed the victim how to engage in telephone conversations with potential customers and how to determine if a customer was a law enforcement officer.
On January 27, 2011, in five separate transactions, the victim engaged in sexual activity in exchange for money. Each of these transactions was coordinated by Banks and occurred in a hotel in Baton Rouge. The victim was paid approximately $1,200, all of which Banks took from her.
Acting United States Attorney Walt Green stated, “We will not tolerate the sexual exploitation and trafficking of vulnerable, young teenagers, and hope this significant sentence serves notice to others inclined to engage in such despicable conduct. We appreciate the strong work of the FBI and the Baton Rouge Police Department and commend the Middle District Human Trafficking Task Force for its efforts in educating law enforcement and the public in general about this issue. We are also inspired by the courage of the victim in this case and hope it inspires other victims of sex trafficking to come forward.”
This investigation was conducted by the FBI and Baton Rouge Police Department. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Frederick A. Menner, Jr. and Susan C. Amundson.
During his guilty plea hearing last year, Banks admitted that in January 2011, he enticed the victim, a 15-year-old girl, to engage in acts of prostitution. Several days earlier, the victim ran away from a Baton Rouge home for teenage girls. Banks placed several ads on an online service often utilized by those in the commercial sex trade. Banks used the moniker “Sinsational” or “Blonde Bunny” to describe the victim in the ads. Banks instructed the victim how to engage in telephone conversations with potential customers and how to determine if a customer was a law enforcement officer.
On January 27, 2011, in five separate transactions, the victim engaged in sexual activity in exchange for money. Each of these transactions was coordinated by Banks and occurred in a hotel in Baton Rouge. The victim was paid approximately $1,200, all of which Banks took from her.
Acting United States Attorney Walt Green stated, “We will not tolerate the sexual exploitation and trafficking of vulnerable, young teenagers, and hope this significant sentence serves notice to others inclined to engage in such despicable conduct. We appreciate the strong work of the FBI and the Baton Rouge Police Department and commend the Middle District Human Trafficking Task Force for its efforts in educating law enforcement and the public in general about this issue. We are also inspired by the courage of the victim in this case and hope it inspires other victims of sex trafficking to come forward.”
This investigation was conducted by the FBI and Baton Rouge Police Department. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Frederick A. Menner, Jr. and Susan C. Amundson.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Former Partner in International Law Firm Sentenced to More Than 17 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking of a Minor, Distributing Images of Child Sexual Abuse
NEWARK—A Bergen County, New Jersey man admitted today to engaging in the sex trafficking of a young boy and distributing child pornography over the Internet and was sentenced during the same proceeding to 210 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution to his victims, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Edward M. De Sear, 67, of Saddle River, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to a superseding information charging him with one count of sex trafficking of a child and four counts of distributing child pornography. Judge Martini imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
At the time of his initial arrest in July 2011 on a federal complaint charging him with distribution of child pornography, De Sear was a partner at the New York office of a prominent international law firm. He was released on bail and taken into custody again in August 2012, when he was charged in an indictment with multiple offenses related to images of children being sexually abused.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
De Sear admitted that in June 2011, he arranged for a young boy to travel from Paris to Brussels, Belgium, and sexually abused the child. De Sear facilitated the boy’s international travel by, among other means, paying cash to the boy’s father.
On several occasions between May 2010 and February 2011, De Sear also distributed hundreds of video and image files depicting young children being sexually abused, sometimes violently, via a peer-to-peer file-sharing program.
In addition to the prison term and restitution, Judge Martini ordered De Sear to pay a $25,000 fine and sentenced him to a lifetime of supervised release. He is also required to register as a sex offender.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea and sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shirley U. Emehelu and Leslie F. Schwartz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Edward M. De Sear, 67, of Saddle River, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to a superseding information charging him with one count of sex trafficking of a child and four counts of distributing child pornography. Judge Martini imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
At the time of his initial arrest in July 2011 on a federal complaint charging him with distribution of child pornography, De Sear was a partner at the New York office of a prominent international law firm. He was released on bail and taken into custody again in August 2012, when he was charged in an indictment with multiple offenses related to images of children being sexually abused.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
De Sear admitted that in June 2011, he arranged for a young boy to travel from Paris to Brussels, Belgium, and sexually abused the child. De Sear facilitated the boy’s international travel by, among other means, paying cash to the boy’s father.
On several occasions between May 2010 and February 2011, De Sear also distributed hundreds of video and image files depicting young children being sexually abused, sometimes violently, via a peer-to-peer file-sharing program.
In addition to the prison term and restitution, Judge Martini ordered De Sear to pay a $25,000 fine and sentenced him to a lifetime of supervised release. He is also required to register as a sex offender.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea and sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shirley U. Emehelu and Leslie F. Schwartz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Rochester Man Charged in Plot to Murder Witness in Sex Trafficking Case
ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Robert Palermo, 29, of Rochester, New York, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with witness tampering by attempting to kill another person to prevent that person’s testimony in an official proceeding and threatening to assault and/or murder a federal law enforcement officer in retaliation for performance of his official duties. The witness tampering charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer carries a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Robert A. Marangola, who is handling the case, stated that Palermo, who is in jail on pending federal charges of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and sex trafficking of a minor, attempted to obtain a hitman to murder the 15-year-old female sex trafficking victim. According to the complaint, over the telephone and in letters, the defendant spoke to multiple individuals about his plot to have a hitman murder the victim in order to prevent her from testifying against him. To bring the murder plot to fruition, Palermo provided the victim’s name, description, and directions to an address as well as the phone number for a person outside of jail for the hitman to contact on behalf of Palermo. Law enforcement learned of the plot before any harm came to the victim.
Law enforcement officers pursued the investigation by monitoring Palermo’s conduct in jail and utilizing an undercover police officer to pose as a hit man. During the investigation, the defendant threatened a particular investigating FBI agent by stating that Palermo would “beat that guy’s face in” and that the agent would “end up in a f—king river.”
The underlying sex trafficking case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, alleges that Palermo and co-defendant Daniel Tanck, knowing the victim was then 14 years old, placed an ad on Backpage.com for her to engage in prostitution activities, took pictures of her for the Backpage.com ad at their residence on Emerson Street in the City of Rochester and posted the advertisement using Tanck’s computer.
“The allegations in this case are especially egregious insofar as they accuse the defendant of attempting to victimize a young victim not once, but twice,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Thanks to the diligent efforts of law enforcement officers, both efforts were unsuccessful.”
The criminal complaint is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Crimes Task Force, which includes the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Sheppard; the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn; and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Brian P. Boetig, Special Agent in Charge, and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office under the direction of Sandra Doorley.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Assistant U.S. Robert A. Marangola, who is handling the case, stated that Palermo, who is in jail on pending federal charges of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and sex trafficking of a minor, attempted to obtain a hitman to murder the 15-year-old female sex trafficking victim. According to the complaint, over the telephone and in letters, the defendant spoke to multiple individuals about his plot to have a hitman murder the victim in order to prevent her from testifying against him. To bring the murder plot to fruition, Palermo provided the victim’s name, description, and directions to an address as well as the phone number for a person outside of jail for the hitman to contact on behalf of Palermo. Law enforcement learned of the plot before any harm came to the victim.
Law enforcement officers pursued the investigation by monitoring Palermo’s conduct in jail and utilizing an undercover police officer to pose as a hit man. During the investigation, the defendant threatened a particular investigating FBI agent by stating that Palermo would “beat that guy’s face in” and that the agent would “end up in a f—king river.”
The underlying sex trafficking case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, alleges that Palermo and co-defendant Daniel Tanck, knowing the victim was then 14 years old, placed an ad on Backpage.com for her to engage in prostitution activities, took pictures of her for the Backpage.com ad at their residence on Emerson Street in the City of Rochester and posted the advertisement using Tanck’s computer.
“The allegations in this case are especially egregious insofar as they accuse the defendant of attempting to victimize a young victim not once, but twice,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Thanks to the diligent efforts of law enforcement officers, both efforts were unsuccessful.”
The criminal complaint is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Crimes Task Force, which includes the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Sheppard; the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn; and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Brian P. Boetig, Special Agent in Charge, and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office under the direction of Sandra Doorley.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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