Charlotte Woman Sentenced for Role in Recruiting 13-Year-Old Girl into Prostitution Organization

RICHMOND, VA—Rachael Masingene, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced yesterday to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to transport an individual across state lines for prostitution.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jeffrey C. Mazanec, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; and D.A. Middleton, Chief of Police for the Henrico County Police Division, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Henry E. Hudson.

“Rachael Masingene played an integral role in recruiting a 13-year-old girl into the vile world of sex trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “She taught the girl the business of online prostitution and lived with her in hotels for months while the victim’s family desperately searched for their child. Many people think human trafficking is a man’s business—but the recruiters are often women, and we hold them accountable.”

“It is reprehensible for an adult to recruit a vulnerable and defenseless child into the vile world of prostitution,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Mazanec. “Children deserve to be protected from the criminal world—not recruited into it. Today’s sentence is a strong reflection that this criminal behavior will not be tolerated. Our office will continue to work with the United States Attorney’s Office and our other law enforcement partners to interdict this kind of criminal activity that unfortunately plagues many states across the country.”

Masingene pled guilty on September 27, 2012 to conspiracy to transport an individual across state lines for purpose of prostitution. According to court documents, Masingne worked as a prostitute for Korey Reynolds in the Charlotte area from 2011 through 2012. In a statement of facts filed with her plea agreement, Masingne admitted that in February or March 2012, she met a 13-year old female while she, Reynolds, and Whitney Hayes, another woman who was also working as a prostitute for Reynolds, were in Miami, Florida. Masingene acknowledged that she and Hayes recruited the 13-year old to join the prostitution organization. Once they were back in Charlotte, Masingene and Hayes taught the juvenile the business of prostitution, including posting Internet advertisements offering the female as a prostitute to prospective customers. In May 2012, Reynolds, Masingene, and Hayes transported the juvenile from Charlotte to Richmond, Virginia with the intent that the juvenile engage in prostitution while in Virginia.

Reynolds was convicted of transporting a minor in interstate commerce for purposes of prostitution and was sentenced to 130 months of imprisonment. Hayes was also convicted of conspiracy to transport an individual across state lines for prostitution and was sentenced to 57 months of imprisonment.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Henrico County Police Division. Assistant United States Attorney Jamie L. Mickelson prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.