Three Men Sentenced To Prison For Offenses Related To Human Trafficking

LAS VEGAS – A man from San Bernardino, California, and two Las Vegas residents were sentenced to prison last week in three separate human trafficking related investigations.

Tyler Sampson (26), a San Bernadino, California resident, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Andrew P. Gordon to six and half years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release. On March 15, 2022, Sampson pleaded guilty to felon in possession of a firearm and possession of child pornography.

According to court documents, on July 19, 2021, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers were patrolling a portion of Tropicana Avenue that was known for prostitution. Sampson’s car was illegally parked in the area. A woman spoke with the officers and told them Sampson was a “pimp.” Officers approached Sampson’s car to investigate and ultimately located a pistol sticking out from underneath the driver’s seat. Officers recovered a loaded .40 caliber Glock 22 pistol. Because Sampson has prior felony convictions in Los Angeles County, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm. Officers also searched Sampson’s cell phone and found videos of child pornography depicting a suspected human trafficking victim.

In a separate case, John Glen Burnett (59), a Las Vegas resident, was sentenced by Judge Gordon to nine years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release after pleading guilty on January 11, 2022, to coercion and enticement.

According to court documents, on September 17, 2021, Burnett responded to an online prostitution advertisement and exchanged messages with someone he believed to be a 15-year-old prostitute. He agreed to pay $100 to the girl in exchange for her to engage in sex acts with him. A couple of hours later, Burnett drove to the agreed upon location where he was arrested by law enforcement.

In another case, Tamarion Williams (22), a Las Vegas resident, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge James C. Mahan to 30-months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty on March 11, 2022, to felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, in November 2020, Williams used social media to post photographs of himself holding a gun. William’s probation officer saw the posts and notified the police who obtained a search warrant. Officers recovered the same .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol shown in the posts and arrested Williams. In 2019, Williams was convicted of Pandering and Battery with Substantial Bodily Harm in Clark County. As a result of these felony convictions, Williams is not allowed to possess a firearm.

These cases were jointly investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bianca Pucci.

U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement.

The cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood and for information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Report child sexual exploitation to NCMEC by calling the hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or online at www.cybertipline.org.

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org.

###