Sacramento Man Sentenced to 12 Years and Seven Months for Sex Trafficking of a Minor

SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that United States District Judge Frank C. Damrell today sentenced Marvin Chavelle Epps, 24, of Sacramento, to 12 years and seven months in federal prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for the sex trafficking of a minor in interstate commerce. Epps will be required to register as a sex offender and adhere to numerous other conditions while on supervised release.

On April 12, 2010, Epps pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of a minor girl who was 16 at the time she worked for him as a prostitute. According to court documents, Epps first contacted the girl on the social networking site Myspace. During his Internet communications with her, he promoted himself as a pimp and encouraged the girl to travel from her home in Solano County to Sacramento where she could work for him. After she traveled to Sacramento, the girl worked for Epps for approximately three weeks in October 2008. Evidence revealed Epps used websites to advertise the girl and to solicit sex dates for her from a north Sacramento motel.

This case was the product of an extensive investigation by the FBI’s Innocence Lost Task Force, a task force composed of Sacramento City Police detectives and FBI special agents targeting child prostitution in the greater Sacramento area. Assistant United States Attorney Laurel D. White prosecuted the case.