Convictions of Human Trafficking in North Mississippi

OXFORD, Miss. – United States Attorney William C. Lamar and Christopher Freeze, Special Agent in Charge at the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced today that Ricky Robertson a.k.a. “Slick Rick” and Ladarius Jackson, a.k.a. “Dee Don” were sentenced on sex trafficking charges before Chief District Judge Sharion Aycock in Federal Court in Oxford, Mississippi.  Robertson previously entered a guilty plea on Count One of the Indictment – Sex Trafficking Conspiracy – in violation of Title 18 United States Code Section 1594(c) and was sentenced to serve 188 months imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release.  Jackson previously entered a guilty plea to Count Three of the Indictment – Travelling in Interstate Commerce to Engage in Prostitution – in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 2421 and was sentenced to serve 33 months imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release.

Both Robertson and Jackson admitted to transporting prostitutes from Memphis, Tennessee to Oxford, Mississippi in order to engage in commercial sex acts.  Robertson admitted to trafficking the prostitutes through fraud and coercion by controlling the money they earned from commercial sex.

“Human trafficking is not a victimless crime,” remarked United States Attorney William C. Lamar.  “Women, many of whom are very young, are often coerced into prostitution by predators, taken advantage of, and are frequently victims of violence.  Along with federal, state and local law enforcement, we will continue to address this problem in our District and prosecute those responsible.”

Human trafficking steals the innocence from our children and young women, and the individuals who prey upon the vulnerable need to be removed from our society,” said Christopher Freeze, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Mississippi.  “Human trafficking victims often feel pressured with the threat of violence toward them or their families, giving them the false reality that prostitution is their only means of making a living.  We ask the public to be vigilant to the signs of human trafficking and notify law enforcement when they see what they believe is the unconscionable act of buying and selling human beings.”

This matter was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Clay Dabbs of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi, and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Oxford Police Department and the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department.