Cleveland Man Convicted of Sex Trafficking
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 15, 2011 |
Eric Tutstone, 44, of Cleveland, was convicted this week on two counts of sex trafficking of minors, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Tutstone was convicted following a two-day trial before U.S. District Judge John Adams in Akron.
He is scheduled to be sentenced March 22, 2011.
“Human trafficking is far more prevalent than most people realize,” Dettelbach said. “We are committed to stamping out commercial sex trafficking, labor trafficking and all over forms of this modern-day slavery.”
Court documents filed in the case show that Tutstone agreed to sell a 16-year-old girl into the commercial sex trade for $300.
On or about Dec. 9, 2011, Tutstone entered the Starbucks on West 6th Street in Cleveland with two females. He later left with only one female and $300, according to court documents.
The victim in the case said she was sold to a madam by Tutstone. “When I saw Eric take the money I knew I had just been sold,” the victim said, according to court documents.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Duncan Brown following an investigation by Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cleveland office.