March 26, 2015

Two Men Sentenced to a Total of 55 Years in Prison for Unrelated Sexual Crimes Involving Minors

FORT SMITH, AR—Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Doncouri Wells and Jason Delbosque were sentenced today to a combined total of 55 years in federal prison for unrelated sexual crimes involving minors. Wells, aka “D”, age 38, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, was sentenced to 300 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release on one count of Sex Trafficking of Children; Delbosque, age 40, of the Atlanta, Georgia area, was sentenced to 360 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release on one count of Knowingly Transporting a Minor in Interstate Commerce with the Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity. The Honorable P.K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearings in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.

U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “The two defendants sentenced today committed appalling, despicable crimes involving sexual activity with minor children, and as a result, each will now spend a significant portion of their lives in federal prison. Protecting children across the Western District of Arkansas remains the top priority of our office and we will not waver in our commitment to prosecute those who commit crimes against them. I would like to thank the FBI, the Fayetteville Police Department, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, and other local and state law enforcement agencies for all their hard work in bringing these two to justice.”

“Today’s sentencings demonstrate the resolve of law enforcement to halt the deplorable exploitation of innocent children and the trafficking of humans,” commented David T. Resch, Special Agent in Charge of the Little Rock FBI Field Office, “Along with our partners, United States Attorneys’ Office, Fayetteville Police Department, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, The Comanche County, Texas Sheriff’s Department and the De Leon, Texas Police Department, we will continue to aggressively investigate those who participate in sex trafficking.”

With respect to Wells, according to court records, on June 8, 2014, the Fayetteville Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations in Northwest Arkansas were alerted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an advertisement for prostitution was posted on the website Backpage.com under the “escort” section that depicted a suspected minor from Fayetteville, Arkansas. Law enforcement later located the female depicted in the “Backpage” posting and confirmed that she was in fact 16 years of age. During a subsequent interview with the minor, she stated that she had been engaging in commercial sexual acts in Northwest Arkansas and she identified her “pimp” by the street name of “D” who lived in Fayetteville. Specifically, she stated that “D” took digital photographs of her and posted them to Backpage.com under his account for the purposes of prostitution, and that in early June of 2014 she had sexual intercourse with multiple different adult males in exchange for money in a room rented by “D” at a local motel in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Additionally, she informed officers that she told “D” she was 16 years of age before posting her images on Backpage.com. The minor female later identified her “pimp” that she knew as “D” as Doncouri Wells from a photo lineup. During the subsequent law enforcement investigation, FBI agents were able to positively identify the user of the Backpage.com advertisements that depicted the minor female as Doncouri Wells. Wells was arrested by the Fayetteville Police Department on July 11, 2014 for promoting prostitution. On July 17, 2014, Wells admitted to promoting the prostitution of the minor female. Wells pleaded guilty to the charge on November 21, 2014. At the time of this crime, Wells was on parole following a guilty plea for Possession of Methamphetamine and because Wells has at least two prior felony convictions for a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense, he is a career offender.

With respect to Delbosque, according to court records, on June 13, 2014, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the parents of a 16 year old female, reporting that their daughter, who was at home the night before, had been missing ever since. During the subsequent investigation, officers obtained the minor’s cell phone records, which reflected that the minor was in contact with an individual, later identified as Jason Delbosque, just before her disappearance. Officers then obtained Delbosque’s cell phone records, which reflected that on or about June 12, 2014, Delbosque traveled from Georgia to the minor’s residence in the Western District of Arkansas, and that his cell phone last activated near a cell tower close to Stephensville, Texas. Following an extensive state and federal law enforcement search, on June 23, 2014, the minor was located approximately 26 miles from Stephensville. Later that day, law enforcement officers located Delbosque in the same area and took him into custody. The minor was subsequently interviewed and stated that she and Delbosque began communicating approximately six months prior via an Internet application known as “kik”. She informed officers that that around June 11, 2014, Delbosque told her that he was leaving and wanted her to go with him. Approximately one day later, she said Delbosque picked her up at her parent’s house in Carroll County, Arkansas, at approximately 1 a.m. and drove them to Texas. While in route to Texas, the minor stated that Delbosque told her to disable her phone and give it to him. She never used her phone again. Additionally, the minor stated that Delbosque was aware that she was 16 years of age when he picked her up from her parent’s house in Arkansas. Delbosque pleaded guilty to the charge on November 24, 2014. At sentencing the Government presented the Court with evidence that at the time of this crime, Delbosque was required to register as a sex offender due to a previous conviction for Aggravated Sexual Assault, which involved the sexual abuse or sexual contact with a minor less than 14 years of age.

These cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Fayetteville Police Department, the Carrol County Sheriff’s Office, the Comanche County, Texas Sheriff’s Department, and the De Leon, Texas Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Dustin Roberts prosecuted the cases for the United States.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and their Criminal Division Child Exploitation and Obscenity Sections (CEOS), 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, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.