Juries Find Milwaukee Men Guilty of Sex Trafficking

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that two sex traffickers (commonly referred to as “pimps”) were convicted in separate trials in federal court in Milwaukee.

On September 1, 2017, a federal jury found Jaboree Williams (age 31) guilty on 18 counts:

• three counts of sex trafficking;

• three counts of interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution;

• conspiracy to distribute heroin and other narcotics;

• obstruction of a sex trafficking investigation;

• four counts of witness intimidation and tampering;

• four counts of contempt of court;

• obstruction of justice; and

• sending an extortionate threat.

The evidence at his trial established that Williams used force, fraud, and coercion to compel female victims to engage in prostitution in a number of states, including Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, Georgia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The victims testified that Williams imposed a strict set of rules, including that the victims provide him with all of the money they were paid for engaging in sex acts; that they never tell law enforcement what Williams made them do; and that they obey Williams’ commands. Williams enforced these rules by severely beating victims who violated them. He also threatened and intimidated victims and other witnesses during the investigation and prosecution, including while he was in jail and subject to a no-contact order that had been entered by a federal judge.

Williams is scheduled to be sentenced on December 20, 2017, by United States District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller. Williams faces a maximum life term of imprisonment and a mandatory minimum of 15 years of imprisonment.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Human Trafficking Task Force and the Racine Police Department investigated the Williams case with the assistance of the Oshkosh Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Laura S. Kwaterski and Karine Moreno-Taxman prosecuted the case.

On September 6, 2017, in a separate trial, another federal jury found Terrell Shankle, a/k/a “King Relly” (age 40), guilty on six counts:

• one count of conspiracy to transport a minor across state lines to engage in prostitution; and

• five counts of sex trafficking a minor and sex trafficking a person using force, fraud, or coercion.

The evidence at his trial established that Shankle was a violent sex trafficker who, between September 2006 and May 2012, used force, fraud, and coercion to cause a number of minor and adult female victims to engage in prostitution. Victims of Shankle’s sex trafficking testified that he regularly used physical violence and threats of violence to control them and make them engage in prostitution in Milwaukee and Chicago for his profit. All of the victims were teenagers when Shankle coerced them into prostitution, and many were under the age of 18.

Shankle faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and mandatory minimum sentences of 15 years’ imprisonment on each of the five counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion. The sentencing hearing is set for December 6, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Milwaukee Police Department investigated the Shankle case, with assistance from the Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin W. Proctor and Erica J. Lounsberry prosecuted the case.

United States Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad stated: “Sex traffickers prey upon some of the most vulnerable members of our society, subjecting victims to extraordinary levels of violence and brutality. All too often, as was the case with Terrell Shankle, children are among the vulnerable victims targeted by sex traffickers. And sex traffickers like Jaboree Williams further aggravate already-horrific crimes by using the fear they have instilled in their victims to intimidate witnesses and obstruct sex trafficking investigations and prosecutions. The Williams and Shankle cases reflect the commitment that the United States Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have to working with our local law enforcement partners to protect citizens from these violent and predatory offenses.”

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