Atlanta Man Sentenced for Sex Trafficking of Minors
Demetrius Homer Advertised Juveniles on Backpage.com

ATLANTA—DEMETRIUS DARNELL HOMER, a/k/a “Cateye,” 30, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Orinda Evans to federal prison on charges of sex trafficking of a minor.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said of the case, “This is an example of the type of case that we addressed at this week’s Human Trafficking Summit with law enforcement officers and service providers in the community. Homer preyed on young girls by pretending to care for them. Once he had control over them, he advertised these children on the Internet for sex—all to line his own pockets. Sex trafficking is modern day slavery, and we must and will do everything we can to protect our children.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta, said, “This case represents one of the more egregious examples of the exploitation of minor children, and it is because of cases like this that the FBI chose to form a task force to better address those who choose to exploit and traffic minor children. The FBI and its partner task force members are proud of the role that they played in bringing Mr. Homer to justice.”

HOMER was sentenced to 20 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. HOMER was ordered to pay restitution to two victims totaling $63,000. HOMER pleaded guilty to the charges on March 4, 2011.

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: HOMER recruited and enticed a juvenile girl by becoming her boyfriend. The victim, identified in the charges only by the initials “A.M.,” was 14 years old when HOMER met her and began to use a cycle of romance and violence to cause her to engage in prostitution. HOMER hit A.M., threatened A.M. with a knife, and even shocked her with a taser her in front of another juvenile he also placed in prostitution. From January 2009 through November 2009, HOMER took pictures of A.M. and placed advertisements of this young girl on the Internet site Backpage.com to solicit customers. The advertisements listed prices ranging from $60 to $175 depending on the amount of time booked and the location. HOMER would also pay for hotel rooms in the greater metropolitan Atlanta area where the commercial sex acts took place. HOMER even had A.M. engage in prostitution while she was pregnant with his child. HOMER took all the money from A.M. and another juvenile identified in the charges by the initials “J.F.,” which both of the juveniles had earned. HOMER also bonded out “A.M.” from police custody when she got arrested, knowing that she was a minor.

This case was investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the FBI’s Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force, including the Atlanta Police Department, Gwinnett County Police Department, City of Marietta Police Department, Fulton County Police Department, Clayton County Police Department, and the Sandy Springs Police Department. If anyone has any information about human trafficking, they are encouraged to report the information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation at 404-679-9000.

Assistant United States Attorney Susan Coppedge prosecuted the case.

For further information, please contact Sally Q. Yates, United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.