Tacoma Sex Trafficker Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison

PORTLAND, OR—Depri Marquis Spenser, 25, of Tacoma, Washington, was sentenced to 10 years in prison today by United States District Judge Michael H. Simon for transporting two young girls from Washington to Oregon for the purpose of prostitution. On October 17, 2012, Spenser pleaded guilty to one count of transporting a minor across state lines for prostitution. Upon release from custody, Spenser will serve a 10-year period of supervised release. During his supervised release, he must abide by a number of conditions which include a sex offender assessment and treatment program, no contact with minors without approval, restricted access to computers and the Internet, and registration as a sex offender.

“Attention out-of-state traffickers,” said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall, “If you are caught trafficking girls in this district, we will not send you home. We will send you to federal prison for at least 10 years.”

“It is our responsibility as law enforcement to protect the children in our shared community,” said Greg Fowler, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon. “No child should be put on the street. No child should be sold for sex. No child should be subjected to the violence and abuse and exploitation that these kids are. We can and will come after the pimps who profit off these kids. With the public’s help, we will continue to target those pimps, and we look to our partners on the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force to lead the fight.”

Spenser was arrested in February 2012 after transporting two 15-year-old girls from Tacoma to Seattle to Portland for the purpose of sex trafficking. In Portland, Spenser caused the girls to post prostitution advertisements on www.backpage.com, a website frequently used by sex traffickers. Several Portland-area men supported Spenser’s illegal trafficking by responding to these advertisements and setting up “dates” with one of the 15-year-old victims. Spenser drove with the victim to area hotels, dropped her off a few blocks away to avoid detection, picked her up afterwards, and then demanded all of the money she received from the “date.”

This case stemmed from a coordinated investigation by members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Child Exploitation Task Force (CETF), including the FBI, the Portland Police Bureau’s Minor Victims of Sex Trafficking Unit, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The FBI’s CETF marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children through sex trafficking, as well as to identify and recover victims. CETF members include the Portland Police Bureau, Tigard Police Department, Vancouver Police Department, and Beaverton Police Department. CETF partners include the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and the Hillsboro Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacie Beckerman.