Louisiana Woman Sentenced to 192 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Commit Sex Trafficking of a Minor

A Louisiana woman was sentenced today to 16 years in prison for conspiring to commit sex trafficking of a minor, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney J. Walter Green of the Middle District of Louisiana and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey S. Sallet of the FBI’s New Orleans Division.

Kellie M. Dominique, 37, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Shelly D. Dick of the Middle District of Louisiana, who also ordered her to serve a five-year term of supervised release. 

In connection with her plea, Dominique admitted that from June 2013 until September 2013, she conspired with others to promote the prostitution of a minor female out of Dominique’s home and other venues.  In order to manage and carry on the prostitution business, Dominique admitted that she and the minor female regularly used telephones to schedule prostitution sessions and to discuss the proceeds earned from the prostitution sessions.  Dominique also admitted that she facilitated the minor female’s posts on Backpage.com classified advertisements for commercial sex acts in Louisiana and elsewhere.  Dominique further admitted that she provided the minor female with illegal drugs and used such drugs with the minor female.  Finally, when authorities began to investigate her illegal conduct, Dominique made false statements to government officials and corruptly influenced potential witnesses.  

Four others have been convicted in related cases in the Middle District of Louisiana, including Jeremie Tate, 34, of Zachery, Louisiana, who was sentenced in September 2015 to serve 115 months in prison for operating an interstate prostitution enterprise.

The FBI’s Baton Rouge Child Exploitation Task Force, comprised of East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, Louisiana Attorney General’s Office and Louisiana State Police, investigated the case with assistance from the Baton Rouge Police Department’s Narcotics Division, the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and other law enforcement agencies.

Trial Attorney Reginald E. Jones of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie A. Flowers Jr. of the Middle District of Louisiana prosecuted the case.

This 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 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.justice.gov/psc.