Toledo Resident Charged with Sex Trafficking and Firearms Crimes

A six-count indictment was filed against Rodney L. Brown, accusing him of sex trafficking and firearms crimes, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United Stats Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

“We are committed to stopping the commercial sex industry in Northern Ohio,” Dettelbach said. “Our office and the Northwest Ohio Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force continue to work together to target these horrific crimes.”

Brown, 32, lives in Toledo, according to court documents.

Brown is charged with six crimes: three counts of violating the Mann Act (transporting people across state line for the purposes of prostitution) and one count each of sex trafficking by use of force; fraud of coercion; use and possession of a firearm in a crime of violence and illegal possession of a firearm after having previously been convicted of a felony.

Brown is accused of transporting three women from Toledo to Indianapolis in 2010 and 2011 for the purposes of engaging in prostitution. He is also accused of forcing a woman to engage in commercial sex acts in 2011, according to the indictment.

Brown is also accused of using a Mossburg Model 500A shotgun during the crime of sex trafficking, despite a previous robbery conviction.

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James V. Moroney following an investigation by the Northwest Ohio Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The NWOVCACTF includes members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, Toledo Police Department, Lima Police Department, Perrysburg Township Police Department, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office.

A charge is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.