Little Rock Man Found Guilty on Federal Sex Trafficking Charge
| U.S. Attorney’s Office June 07, 2013 |
LITTLE ROCK—Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Randall C. Coleman; Special Agent in Charge of the Little Rock Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Little Rock Police Department Chief Stuart Thomas announced that a federal jury found Jermaine Lamon Roy, age 22, of Little Rock, guilty of one count of sex trafficking by use of force, fraud, or coercion. Roy will be sentenced at a later date to be set by the court. He faces a statutory minimum of 15 years to life in the Bureau of Prisons.
“This is an important case for the victims of sex trafficking,” stated Thyer. “Because of the investigative commitment by the Little Rock Police Department’s Vice Squad, this case was brought to the federal level for prosecution. Together with the FBI, they provided the necessary evidence to stop the violence and forced sex trafficking committed by Roy. While this is the first sex trafficking case prosecuted in the Eastern District of Arkansas, I feel sure there will be more. Those who devalue human dignity will meet justice.”
“Today’s guilty verdict is the first conviction resulting from the work of our Denied Innocence Task Force, a partnership between my office and the Little Rock, North Little Rock, Benton, Bryant, and Conway Police Departments; the Saline County Sheriff’s Office; Arkansas State Police; Homeland Security Investigations; and the United States Marshal’s Service,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Randall C. Coleman. “Working together, we will continue to aggressively investigate those who participate in sex trafficking.”
“We are grateful for work of the Denied Innocence Task Force and for the diligent prosecution of this case by the United States Attorney’s Office,” said Chief Thomas. “I hope this sends an important message that we will continue to pursue such cases and that we will be successful.”
The case was investigated by the Little Rock Police Department Vice Unit in conjunction with the FBI through the Denied Innocence Task Force. They conducted a series of three undercover prostitution operations. Through these operations, they learned of a pimp working in Little Rock using the name Vegas. During the third undercover operation, the Denied Innocence Task Force came in contact with a victim who identified the man using the name Vegas as her pimp. Vegas, later determined by investigators to be Jermaine Roy, was arrested as a result of that sting operation.
Roy was charged in a superseding indictment on May 9, 2013, with one count of sex trafficking by the use of force, fraud, or coercion in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591(a)(1).
The jury reached a verdict after four and one-half hours of deliberation following four days of testimony and presentation of evidence. Testimony from the victim, family members of the victim, and another prostitute who worked for Vegas showed that Roy routinely used force or threatened the use of force to cause the victim to engage in commercial sex acts.
This case was investigated by the Little Rock Police Department Vice Squad in partnership with the FBI Denied Innocence Task Force of the FBI; the Little Rock, North Little Rock, Benton, Bryant, and Conway Police Departments; the Saline County Sheriff’s Office; Arkansas State Police; Homeland Security Investigations; and the United States Marshal’s Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Marsha Clevenger, Tricia Harris, and Kristin Bryant.