Two Charged with Sex Trafficking of a Minor

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Bailegh Noelle Coleman, 20, of Starke, Florida, was arraigned today in the U.S. District Court in Gainesville after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging her and co-defendant Rajheem Kwamaine Roddey, 23, with conspiracy, sex trafficking of a minor, and benefiting financially from sex trafficking of a minor.  The indictment was announced by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

The indictment alleges that, between April and June 2017, Roddey and Coleman recruited and transported a person under age 18 for commercial sexual activity.  The indictment further alleges that they benefited financially from the sex trafficking.  Coleman is in custody, and Roddey has not been arrested yet.  Coleman’s trial is scheduled for November 28, 2017, at 8:30 a.m.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, which includes the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and the Gainesville Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Williams.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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 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.