JTIC Releases Desktop Version of Safeguarding Houses of Worship Tool

In addition to the popular iOS and Android versions of the Justice Technology Information Center (JTIC) Safeguarding Houses of Worship security planning app, vetted public safety professionals now can also request a new desktop version of the tool. To request access to the new fillable PDF version or the download instructions for either of the apps, send an email to asknlectc@justnet.org from an agency email address (not a personal email).

Maryland Men Convicted of Sex Trafficking Three Minor Victims Throughout the East Coast

A federal jury convicted two Hyattsville, Maryland men today of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, including by force, fraud, or coercion, as well as sex trafficking three minors, throughout the East Coast over the course of several months in 2016.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement.

Ivan Duane Williams aka “Lucci,” 28, and Dennis Ray Davis Jr. aka “Dee,” 26, were convicted following a six-day jury trial before Senior U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III in the Eastern District of Virginia. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Williams and Davis recruited three underage girls whom they trafficked in multiple locations, including Atlanta, Georgia; Maryland; Northern Virginia; Richmond, Virginia; and Washington, D.C.  The evidence presented at trial showed that Williams and Davis, working together and with two female co-conspirators in the sex trafficking ring, posted online advertisements of the victims, offering them for commercial sex with men throughout the region; reserved hotel rooms at which they and the victims would stay when traveling to engage in commercial sex acts; drove the victims to the hotels and other locations where the commercial sex acts would occur; and collected the money given to the victims by the commercial sex customers.  The evidence further showed that when two of the minors tried to leave the group, the defendants resorted to violence, including threats, physical force, and brandishing firearms.  Williams and Davis used the money earned by the victims to create rap music where they bragged about exploiting females, and to fund their day-to-day living expenses.

The victims were recovered after law enforcement with the Fairfax County Police Department and Henrico County Police Department responded in undercover capacities to online advertisements for the victims.

“Every American has the right to be safe from violence and exploitation, and it is the mission of this Department to help secure that right,” said Attorney General Sessions.  “Today, during this Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we have won a major victory by securing the conviction of two men who trafficked and exploited underage girls for commercial sex.  I want to thank the dedicated men and women of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, our partners with the Fairfax and Henrico County police, and our dedicated and skilled prosecutors Maureen Cain and Jessica Urban for their hard work in ensuring the criminals are held accountable and justice is achieved for the victims.  They have delivered results today that will make this country a safer place for children.  I also want to thank President Trump for calling attention to this issue by designating January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.  The Justice Department will remain steadfast in our efforts to rescue trafficking victims and put those who victimize children behind bars.”

The FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force investigated the case with substantial assistance from the Fairfax County Police Department and the Henrico County Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen Cain of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Jessica Urban of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) are prosecuting the case.

This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

President Donald J. Trump recently announced January 2018 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, which culminates on February 1, 2018 with the annual celebration of National Freedom Day. In February 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order, which directed the Attorney General to dismantle transnational criminal organizations, including those involved in human trafficking.

Milwaukee Man Sentenced to 21 Years for Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor

Defendant forced multiple young women and girls to engage in commercial sex and to perform at exotic dance clubs on Indian reservations in Northern Wisconsin

Paul Carter, 47, of Milwaukee was sentenced today to 21 years in prison, reduced by three years for time served, after pleading guilty on Oct. 6, 2017, to four counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and one count of conspiracy to commit forced labor and sex trafficking, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Gregory Haanstad of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge James M. Gibbons.

According to documents filed in court and in connection with the defendant’s guilty plea, for over a decade, from 2001 to 2013, the defendant recruited young women and girls to dance at clubs using false promises of money and a better life. He then used a combination of physical violence, isolation, emotional manipulation, sexual assault, and threats to harm the victims’ families to exert control over the victims and compel them to engage in commercial sex acts.

For example, on one occasion, the defendant used a heated wire hanger to brand a “P” on a victim’s buttock to demonstrate his ownership of her. When he learned that another victim was considering leaving, he put the barrel of a gun in her mouth and threatened to “blow her head off.”

On another occasion, the defendant, believing that a victim had hidden money from him, responded by searching her genitals and then forcing her to engage in sexual intercourse with him. In another instance, the defendant required her to choose between two punishments: drowning or jumping out of a window. After the victim jumped out of the window and fell to the ground, the defendant kicked her several times in the head, threw the victim to the ground, and stepped on her head hard enough to break her teeth.

President Donald J. Trump recently announced January 2018 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, which culminates on February 1, 2018 with the annual celebration of National Freedom Day. In February 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order, which directed the Attorney General to dismantle transnational criminal organizations, including those involved in human trafficking.

“Combatting sex trafficking—a heinous crime that often times preys on the youngest and most vulnerable members of our society—is one of the highest priorities of the Justice Department,” said Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand. “We will continue to work tirelessly to vindicate the civil rights of victims of human trafficking.”

“Sex traffickers target and prey upon some of the most vulnerable members of our society, threatening victims and subjecting them to extraordinary levels of violence,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory Haanstad of the Eastern District of Wisconsin. “Sex traffickers use violence not only to coerce victims into engaging in commercial sex acts, but also as a way to keep victims from cooperating with trafficking investigations and prosecutions. The United States Attorney’s Office remains committed to working with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to vindicate the rights of sex trafficking victims and to protect citizens from these violent and predatory offenses.”

“This case is an example of the ruthlessness of human traffickers who are willing to do anything, including victimizing women and girls, to make money,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge James M. Gibbons. “Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and HSI will continue to collaborate with community partners to bring justice to those impacted by this terrible crime.”

Two of Carter’s co-defendants previously pleaded guilty. Defendant David Moore pleaded guilty on October 27, 2015, to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and trafficking with respect to forced labor.  Sentencing is scheduled for January 30, 2018.  Defendant Najee Moore pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and use of an interstate facility to promote a prostitution business enterprise on June 9, 2014, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on December 22, 2016.

This prosecution is the result of the joint investigation by the Eastern District of Wisconsin’s Human Trafficking Task Force and cooperative efforts of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice, the Milwaukee Police Department, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karine Moreno-Taxman and Laura Kwaterski of the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Trial Attorney Vasantha Rao of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.