Home Portland Press Releases 2009 Texas Man Arraigned on Transporting and Sex Trafficking Charges Involving a Minor Victim Federal Indictment Charges Six...
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Texas Man Arraigned on Transporting and Sex Trafficking Charges Involving a Minor Victim Federal Indictment Charges Six Counts of Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor of 15-Year-Old Girl for Purposes of Prostitution

U.S. Attorney’s Office June 08, 2009
  • District of Oregon (503) 727-1000

PORTLAND, OR—Karin J. Immergut, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, announced today that James A. Jackson, age 37, made his initial appearance in the Oregon before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Dennis J. Hubel on charges relating to sex trafficking. Jackson was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 5, 2009 and arrested in Cuero, Texas on May 11, 2009.

He is charged with six counts of sex trafficking, transportation, coercion and enticement, as well as the forced labor of a 15-year-old female with the purpose and intent of engaging in prostitution.

The indictment alleges that Jackson transported a minor female from Seattle, Washington to Portland, Oregon with the intent that she engage in prostitution. Further, that he used force, fraud, and coercion to obtain, entice, and harbor a minor female victim. Last, that Jackson obtained the services of the minor through threats of serious harm or a scheme or pattern intended to cause the minor to believe that she would suffer serious harm if she did not perform such labor or services.

On the issue of detention, the minor victim provided a written statement that was read to Judge Hubel. “He kidnapped me from the only place I knew, from my family and hometown. He trafficked me from Seattle, Washington to Portland, Oregon. He used me for his own satisfaction, knowing my age. I was 15 years old and he was 36.”

Judge Hubel ordered that defendant be held in custody pending trial as a flight risk and danger to the community. A jury trial was set for August 11, 2009.

A conviction for sex trafficking carries a mandatory minimum 15 year sentence to a maximum of life imprisonment. The transportation or coercion and enticement counts each carry a mandatory minimum10 year sentence to a maximum of life imprisonment.

This case was brought by the Oregon Human Trafficking Task Force (OHTTF). The OHTTF was created in May of 2005. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the task force provides a comprehensive collaborative approach to combat human trafficking through partnerships between federal, state, local law enforcement, social service providers, and other government and non-government agencies. For more information about OHTTF visit www.oregonoath.org. To provide a local tip on a human trafficking please call Multnomah County Sheriff Deputy Sgt. Keith Bickford at (503) 251-2479. You can also report human trafficking tip to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 or go online to NHTRC@PolarisProject.org.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tigard Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kemp L. Strickland is prosecuting the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Oregon.

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