Home Portland Press Releases 2009 Portland Couple Arraigned on Transporting and Sex Trafficking Charges Involving a Minor Victim Federal Indictment...
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Portland Couple Arraigned on Transporting and Sex Trafficking Charges Involving a Minor Victim Federal Indictment Charges Five Counts of Sex Trafficking & Transporting a Minor for Purposes of Prostitution

U.S. Attorney’s Office June 25, 2009
  • District of Oregon (503) 727-1000

PORTLAND, OR—U.S. Attorney Karin J. Immergut announced today that Donnico T. Johnson, 37, of Portland, Oregon, made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis J. Hubel on charges of sex trafficking, transportation of a minor, and coercion and enticement of a 16-year old female with the purpose of prostitution. On June 16, 2009, a federal grand jury issued a superseding indictment charging Johnson and co-defendant Lisa Miles, 30, who were arrested last Thursday in Portland. Both defendants are in custody pending trial, which is set for August 11, 2009.

The indictment alleges that Johnson and Miles transported the minor female from Seattle, Washington to Portland, Oregon with the intent that she engage in prostitution. Further, it alleges that Johnson knew the female was under the age of 18. Johnson’s co-defendant, Miles, was arraigned last Friday and held in custody pending trial by U.S. Magistrate Judge Janice M. Stewart.

To support the detention of Johnson and Miles, the minor victim’s mother provided a written statement that was read to U.S. Magistrate Judges Stewart and Hubel. “I am speaking to the court as the mother of a vulnerable child who was exploited and victimized. She is, and always will be my child. I’m angry at predators like Donnico Johnson and Lisa Miles, who exploit children at one of the hardest times of their lives...their teens. I would like to acknowledge the determination and hard work of the detectives over the last year and a half, by pursuing the real perpetrators of these crimes, instead of the victims. I am extremely proud of my daughter for her bravery in standing up to these cowards. I would ask that the court protect our children and communities by denying bail and remanding them into custody until trial.”

The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. A conviction for sex trafficking carries a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence to a maximum of life imprisonment. The transportation or coercion and enticement counts each carry a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence to a maximum of life imprisonment.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Innocence Lost Task Force and the Portland Police Bureau. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Kemp L. Strickland.

The case was brought by the Oregon Human Trafficking Task Force (OHTTF) and the Portland Police Bureau. 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 tips to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 or go online to NHTRC@PolarisProject.org.

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