Washington, D.C. Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison for Transporting a Minor to Engage in Prostitution

GREENBELT, MD—Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Dante Law, a/k/a Prepaid, age 30, of Washington, D.C., today to 150 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to transport a minor to engage in prostitution. Chief Judge Chasanow also ordered that upon his release from prison, Law must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to the information presented at Law’s plea hearing, Law conspired with co-defendant Ida Brown to advertise online and transport a minor female to engage in prostitution. On April 16, 2011, a 17-year-old female runaway, whom Law had previously met, contacted Law from Union Station in Washington, D.C. Law told the girl to take a cab to the hotel in Largo, Maryland, where he was staying, and when she arrived, Law paid for the cab. The girl had no clothes, bags, or identification, and she advised Law that she was not able to return home. Law purchased clothes for the girl, including lingerie, and introduced the girl to Brown. Between April 19, 2011 and May 10, 2011, Brown and Law photographed the girl in provocative clothing or nude, advertised the girl online, arranged for hotel rooms, and transported her between Maryland and Virginia for the purpose of having the girl engage in prostitution. Law provided the money that Brown used to pay for hotel rooms and kept all of the money the girl earned through prostitution.

On May 10, 2011, law enforcement recovered the girl at a hotel in Laurel, Maryland, where she was engaging in prostitution. The girl advised that Brown and Law had transported her for prostitution and that Law was her pimp.

Ida Brown, age 23, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to transport and interstate transportation in aid of racketeering and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, 2013.

The case was investigated by the FBI-led Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force (MCETF), created in 2010 to combat child prostitution, with members from 10 state and federal law enforcement agencies. The task force coordinates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Maryland State Police Child Recovery Unit to identify missing children being advertised online for prostitution.

MCETF partners with the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders. Members include federal, state, and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and local community members. For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit ww.justice.gov/usao/md/Human‑Trafficking/index.html.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI for its work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney LisaMarie Freitas of the U.S. Justice Department, Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristi N. O’Malley, who prosecuted the case.