Third Defendant Sentenced in Child Sex Trafficking Case

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Derek Lamar Reddick, 28, of Boynton Beach, Florida, was sentenced to 235 months in prison yesterday afternoon for sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy to transport a minor for prostitution.  After incarceration, Reddick will serve a 20-year term of supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender.  In July 2015, Reddick’s co-conspirator Christine Thurman, 30, of Thomasville, Georgia, was sentenced to 126 months in prison for conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor.  In October 2016, co-conspirator Timothy Gosier, 28, of Thomasville, was sentenced to 36 months in prison for conspiracy and coercion to engage in prostitution.  The sentences were announced by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

In January 2014, an undercover investigator arranged to meet a girl featured in an online sex trafficking advertisement posted by the defendants.  At the motel where the meeting was to take place, investigators observed Reddick and Thurman leave a room adjacent to the motel room where the girl had arranged to meet the undercover officer.  A search of both rooms revealed evidence of prostitution; documentation that the rooms were registered to Reddick and Thurman; and personal belongings of the victim, Reddick, and Thurman.  Investigators were later able to establish that Reddick was connected to prepaid debit cards that had been used to pay for the online advertisements and vehicle rentals to transport the victim for prostitution.  Gosier was involved in transporting this victim on several occasions.

In May 2014, investigators discovered an online advertisement featuring another underage girl, which led them to the same motel where the previous victim had been found.  Reddick was observed dropping off the victim at a motel room.  Directly afterwards, a customer who had arranged to meet the victim entered the motel room.   Investigators immediately went to the room and arrested the man.  Reddick was arrested a short distance away.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Tallahassee Police Department, whose joint investigation led to the charges in this case.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric K. Mountin.

“This case is an example of the positive impact local and federal law enforcement officers have when they join efforts to protect children from predators who would exploit them for personal, financial gain,” said United States Attorney Canova.  “My office and the Department of Justice will continue to prioritize these cases, both in the investigative phase and during prosecution, as they are so profoundly important.”

“This is a horrific example that child sex trafficking exists even in the best of communities,” said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa.  “This sentencing will stop this predator from harming any more young girls and will serve as a warning that HSI special agents will aggressively investigate crimes against our children.”

“Trafficking minors for sexual exploitation is a horrific crime, and one that the FBI remains dedicated to fighting,” said Charles P. Spencer, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division.  “Offenders like the perpetrators in this investigation must know that the FBI and our law enforcement partners will stop at nothing, and use every resource available, to fight for the interests of our young people and bring justice to bear upon those seeking to exploit their vulnerabilities.”

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access available public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website.  For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

For more information, contact:
Amy Alexander, Public Information Officer
(850) 216-3854, amy.alexander@usdoj.gov