Prosecution Brought under Project Safe Childhood
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –
Keron Eugene Lucious, 22, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal
court today to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor.
Lucious
was one of eight defendants charged in a superseding indictment returned by a
federal grand jury on April 10, 2018.
The indictment charged the defendants with various crimes, including
conspiracy to recruit and force minors to engage in commercial sex acts in New
Mexico and Arizona. In Lucious’s plea
agreement, he admitted participating in a conspiracy involving the prostitution
of a child under 18 years old. Lucious
transported the child in interstate commerce for purposes of prostitution. He paid for hotel rooms for the child to
engage in commercial sex acts. Lucious
shared the money earned from this prostitution with his co-conspirators. He also facilitated his criminal activity
using a wireless telephone and social media.
Lucious is
in custody awaiting sentencing. He faces
from 10 years to life in prison. Three
of the other defendants in the case have also pleaded guilty and await
sentencing. Jason Jackson, 25, of
Albuquerque, pleaded guilty on March 8, 2019.
He is currently in custody and faces from 11 to 15 years in prison under
the terms of his plea agreement. Devin
Perkins, 23, of Albuquerque, pleaded guilty on May 9, 2019. Perkins is also in custody. He has agreed to a sentence of 10 years in
prison. Chante Bickham, 26, of
Albuquerque, pleaded guilty on August 9, 2019.
She is out of custody awaiting sentencing where she faces up to six
years in prison.
Charges
are still pending against Camara Cherry-Amos, 25, Breeauna Langton, 21, and
Andrew Wyatt, 30, all of Albuquerque, and John Dompierre, 46, of Phoenix,
Arizona. Charges in indictments are
merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in
a court of law.
The charges is this case arose from a joint investigation
involving the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bernalillo County
Sheriff’s Office, the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General, and the
Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney George C. Kraehe is prosecuting the case as part
of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the
Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual
exploitation and abuse. Led by United
States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and
Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local
resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit
children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe
Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
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