Honolulu Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison on Sex Trafficking Charges

WASHINGTON—Rodney D. King, 44, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge David Alan Ezra to 300 months in prison followed by a life term of supervised release in federal court, the Justice Department announced. King pleaded guilty on May 25, 2010, to sex trafficking involving two adult women and two minor females, and attempted sex trafficking involving an adult woman. On Aug. 27, 2010, Judge Ezra sentenced King’s co-defendant, Sharon Mae Nishimura, 31, to 100 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Nishimura pleaded guilty on Aug. 29, 2009, to attempted sex trafficking involving an adult woman, and sex trafficking involving a minor female.

According to court documents, from April 2006 through June 2007, King used force, fraud and coercion to engage two adult females in commercial sex. Further, in October 2007, King attempted to engage a third adult woman in commercial sex by using force, fraud and coercion, with Nishimura aiding him in that attempt. According to other information before the court, King engaged one of the minor females in commercial sex acts from September 2007 through December 2007, and another minor female in December 2007, knowing both were minors.

“The defendant in this case preyed upon vulnerable women and girls for his own financial gain, robbing them of their freedom and their dignity,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez. “The Justice Department will aggressively prosecute individuals who engage in human trafficking.”

“This sentence sends a strong message that this type of predatory crime that targets young and vulnerable victims is unacceptable, and we will continue to vigorously prosecute sex trafficking cases,” said Florence T. Nakakuni, U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii.

The case culminated investigations by the FBI with the assistance of the Honolulu Police Department and the Sheriff’s Division of the State of Hawaii Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren W.K. Ching and Civil Rights Division trial attorneys Edward Casper and Kayla Bakshi prosecuted this case.