Glen Burnie Sex Trafficker Sentenced to 19 Years in Federal Prison

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Benjamin Lawton, age 42, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, on August 23, 2023, to 19 years in federal prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release, for sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, in connection with his sex trafficking and or transportation of eight women to work for him in his prostitution business.  Judge Bennett also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Lawton will be required to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).  Judge Bennett also ordered that Lawton must pay restitution to the victims in the full amount of their losses.   

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Amal E. Awad of the Anne Arundel County Police Department; Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr., Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.

According to his plea agreement, beginning in at least 2020, Lawton recruited, enticed, transported, advertised, and solicited at least eight victims by force, threats of force, or coercion into engaging in commercial sex acts.  Lawton enticed and coerced the victims to travel across state lines to engage in prostitution, transporting the victims himself or paying for airline tickets to transport the victims across state lines to engage in prostitution.

As detailed in the plea agreement, Lawton’s victims were expected to provide Lawton with all the money they made from commercial sex acts and Lawton threatened them with physical harm if they did not follow the rules.

For example, Lawton met Victim 1 through a female friend in March 2021.  Eventually, Lawton explained to Victim 1 that she belonged to him, and he took photos for commercial sex ads for both Victim 1 and her friend and taught Victim 1 how to engage in commercial sex acts.  Lawton also taught Victim 1 the text codes and rules.  When Victim 1 did not use the correct text code after one of her “dates,” Lawton slapped Victim 1 so hard that her eardrum burst.  Lawton put Victim 1 into hotel rooms near the BWI airport, around Washington, D.C. and in Northern Virginia, where she engaged in commercial sex and provided all the money she earned to Lawton. 

Victim 2 met Lawton in May 2021 through her relationship with Victim 1.  Lawton took Victim 2 to hotels in Washington, D.C. and near the BWI airport to engage in commercial sex acts.  Victims 1 and 2 were very close, and when Victim 2 failed to perform her date and commercial sex acts in the way Lawton required, Lawton assaulted Victim 1.  Lawton also punched Victim 3 in the eye when he found out that she did not give him all the money she earned; Lawton routinely threatened Victim 4, telling her that he would beat her so badly her family wouldn’t recognize her; Lawton threatened to kill Victim 5 and her family if she ever tried to leave; and Lawton assaulted Victim 6, injuring her eye, but refused to let her go to the emergency room or seek medical care for several weeks.  Between 2020 and 2022, Lawton deposited almost $100,000 in cash into his bank accounts made from the exploitation and trafficking of his victims.

This case was investigated by law enforcement agencies that are members of 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 http://www.mdhumantrafficking.org/.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, the Maryland State Police, and the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen E. McGuinn, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/human-trafficking and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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