Dublin Man Sentenced To 20 Years In Federal Prison For Operating an Interstate Pimping Ring, Co-Defendant Sentenced

MACON— A Dublin, Georgia man was sentenced to 240 months in prison for spearheading an organized interstate pimping ring, said Charles “Charlie” Peeler, the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. Jesse Lee Hall, Jr., 39 of Dublin, pled guilty in May to one (1) count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, five (5) counts of transportation for illegal sexual activity and one (1) count of inducement to travel to engage in criminal sexual activity. The Honorable Marc T. Treadwell sentenced Mr. Hall, Jr. on Tuesday, December 11, 2018 to a total of 240 months imprisonment and five (5) years of supervised release for his crimes. In addition, co-defendant Lantesia Lanier, 41, of Dublin, Georgia was sentenced to twelve (12) months in prison and one (1) year supervised release on a charge of misleading law enforcement about her knowledge of the enterprise.

According to the plea agreement, Mr. Hall, Jr., acted as a pimp for several victims. The first victim was identified by law enforcement at a Macon hotel in June 2016. The victim told authorities that Mr. Hall, Jr. was her pimp and that she met him through the internet, and her convinced her to move from Ohio to Georgia. The victim was forced by Mr. Hall, Jr. to perform commercial sex acts in hotels throughout central Georgia. During the investigation, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office received new information that Mr. Hall, Jr. was trafficking other women for sex. A second victim confirmed that Mr. Hall, Jr. was her pimp and that she had worked for him from approximately July 2013 until February 2016.  Mr. Hall, Jr. advertised her services on the website Backpage.com and transported her to hotels inside and outside Georgia for commercial sex acts. A third victim was also identified and was required to perform commercial sex acts throughout central Georgia. All three victims detailed various threats from Mr. Hall, Jr. to force them to perform commercial sex acts. The victims told law enforcement that Ms. Lanier, along with co-defendants Curtis Hall and Jackie Fields, had knowledge of the operation and participated in it to varying degrees. Mr. Hall and Ms. Fields will be sentenced at a later date.

“This pimp will serve 20 years in prison for selling people for sex. Human trafficking is a deplorable offense, and its victims are usually the most vulnerable people in our society,” said U.S. Attorney Charles “Charlie” Peeler. “We will continue to make human trafficking a major priority for the Office, and appreciate the investigative work of the FBI, Bibb, Laurens, and Bleckley County Sheriff’s Offices in this case.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, with support from the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office and the Bleckley County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Crawford Seals is prosecuting the case for the Government.

Questions can be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603 or Melissa Hodges, Public Affairs Director (Contractor), United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 765-2362.