FRESNO, CA—United States District Court Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced Tryvell Powell, 34, of Fresno, today to 10 years and 10 months in prison for sex trafficking of a minor, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Powell communicated with a 16-year-old girl on Facebook and persuaded her to leave Modesto where she was living and travel to Fresno. She then engaged in sex acts with strangers at Powell’s request for his monetary benefit. A relative of the girl reported seeing pictures of the teen in an online advertisement for prostitution. Fresno detectives used the advertisements to contact the girl and arrested Powell. Powell pleaded guilty on July 27, 2015.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Frye prosecuted the case.

This case was 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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.