Cincinnati man sentenced to 40 years in prison for sexually exploiting 16-year-old

 CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 480 months in prison for sex trafficking and creating child pornography of a 16-year-old victim.

Ismail Salaam, 38, was convicted after a jury trial in November 2018. He was charged by a criminal complaint in September 2016 and indicted by a grand jury in October 2016 and January 2017.

“Salaam physically abused, prostituted and sexually exploited a 16-year-old female. When the victim attempted to stop the abuse, Salaam became violent, choking the victim and pulling her hair,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel. “Our community is surely safer with Salaam serving a lengthy sentence in federal prison.”

According to court documents and testimony at trial, Springdale officers responded to the La Quinta Motel in Springdale in September 2016 in response to a report of a juvenile runaway in the motel. Officers discovered Salaam there with the 16-year-old juvenile runaway.

It was further discovered that Salaam had been with the minor girl for the previous three weeks. Salaam paid for food, hairstyling, manicures and clothing for the victim.

Salaam took explicit photographs of the girl and attempted to have the victim post an advertisement on Backpage.com in the escorts section.

Salaam coordinated encounters with at least two men, in which the victim was to engage in sexual conduct in exchange for money. In text messages, Salaam instructed the victim to flirt with the men, offer sexual acts, and collect money and marijuana. In one instance, an adult male had intercourse with the victim and provided $100, which the girl provided to Salaam.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Springdale Police Chief Thomas Wells announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Black. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew C. Singer and Kyle J. Healey and OCDETF Deputy Criminal Chief Christy L. Muncy are representing the United States in this case.