LAS VEGAS—A California man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for inducing and enticing two minor girls to travel from Oakland, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, to work as prostitutes during April and May 2013, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Seagram Joshua Miller, 21, of Hayward, California, who pleaded guilty in January to one count of coercion and enticement of a minor, was sentenced on Tuesday, May 20, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson. Miller was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release following his release from prison, and he will have to register as a sex offender. Miller’s co-defendant, Ray Darnell Webb, 20, also pleaded guilty to one count of coercion and enticement and was sentenced in April to eight years in prison.

“These sentences send a strong message that coercing a minor to work as a prostitute is a deplorable and shameful crime that will land you in prison for a long time,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “It is simply unacceptable for adults to take advantage of minors in such a way that forever will impact their lives. We are working with our community and law enforcement partners to arrest and prosecute the persons who commit these crimes.”

According to the court records plea agreements, in early 2013, Webb and Miller met one of the victims, a 12-year-old female, in Oakland, California, where she was working as a prostitute. Shortly thereafter, the 12-year-old began working as a prostitute for Webb and Miller and provided the money she made working as a prostitute to them. In about April 2013, Miller met a 16-year-old female on Facebook, and she also began working as a prostitute for Miller and Webb. In April 2013, Miller, Webb, and the two minor girls decided to travel to Las Vegas to make money. Before leaving, Webb and the 16-year-old girl posted an advertisement on MyRedbook.com so that they would have dates lined up when they arrived in Las Vegas. The advertisement contained photographs of the 16-year-old. On April 29, 2013, Webb, Miller, and the two minor girls drove from Oakland to Las Vegas and stayed in a rented hotel room on Las Vegas Boulevard. Both girls worked as prostitutes on April 30 and in early May.

The cases were investigated the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as part of the Innocence Lost Task Force. The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas D. Dickinson and Phillip N. Smith, Jr.

The cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.