Maryland Man Found Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court of Sex Trafficking and Transporting a Minor Interstate for the Purpose of Prostitution
| U.S. Attorney’s Office September 28, 2012 |
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Mary Galligan, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced that Jabar Gilliam was found guilty this week in Manhattan federal court of bringing a 16-year-old girl (the “victim”) from Maryland to the Bronx for the purpose of prostitution. He was convicted on Tuesday after a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Griesa.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, “Jabar Gilliam methodically subjected his 16-year-old victim to physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and forced her into prostitution by threatening her and her family. Sex trafficking of a minor is a particularly horrific crime that can inflict permanent damage on its young victims. Gilliam will now face the consequences of his actions.”
FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Mary Galligan said, “Mr. Gilliam prayed on society’s most innocent and helpless victims. His actions were as disturbing as they were self- serving. The FBI places great importance on protecting those who can’t protect themselves; this is a perfect example of that commitment.”
According to the evidence at trial and documents filed in the case:
In October 2011, Gilliam recruited the victim to travel to New York to work for him as a prostitute. In addition to physically and sexually assaulting her, Gilliam threatened both the victim and her family. In December 2011, Gilliam traveled with the victim from Maryland to New York, and, thereafter, he arranged for her to engage in commercial sex acts with various individuals. Gilliam set the prices for the commercial sex acts and kept all the money for himself. While in New York, he also continued physically, sexually, and psychologically abusing the victim.
On December 2, 2011, Gilliam was arrested as he and the victim were returning to the apartment in the Bronx where he had prostituted her earlier that day. At the time of his arrest, the officers recovered the defendant’s backpack, which contained a booklet of handwritten rules for prostitution and a notebook containing handwritten notes on how to dehumanize a woman and strip her of her dignity in order to manipulate and control her as a prostitute.
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Gilliam, 30, of Hagerstown, Maryland, was convicted of one count of sex trafficking of a minor and one count of transporting a minor interstate for the purpose of prostitution. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Griesa on January 3, 2012, at 4:30 p.m.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and thanked the New York City Police Department and the Maryland State Police Department for their assistance.
This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristy J. Greenberg and Natalie Lamarque are in charge of the prosecution.