Sacramento Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking of Minors

SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Paul “Yoshi” Moore, 50, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to three counts of sex trafficking of three different minors. According to the superseding indictment, Moore’s criminal conduct occurred between December 2005 and February 2007. The guilty pleas were entered before Senior United States District Judge Edward J. Garcia.

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

Moore is scheduled to be sentenced on September 23, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. The maximum statutory penalty for two of the sex trafficking counts is life in prison. Those two counts also carry a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence. The third count carries a possible maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. The difference in the maximum prison sentences is due to a statutory change in the maximum penalties during 2005-2007. Moore also faces a potential fine of up to $250,000 per count, a possible life-term of supervised release, and an order of restitution to his victims. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. Moore has agreed to forfeit the camera and computer equipment he used in furtherance of his sex trafficking activities.

A status conference for Moore’s co-defendant, Kevin Hawkins, is scheduled for July 29, 2011. A third co-defendant, Timothy Lee, is scheduled to enter his guilty pleas in the District of Colorado on July 12, 2011.