March 26, 2015

Cincinnati Man Sentenced for Operating Sex Trafficking Scheme in Ohio and Kentucky

WASHINGTON—Senior U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II of the Western District of Kentucky sentenced Cincinnati resident, Christopher Hisle, 45, to serve 180 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release, the Justice Department announced today. Restitution will be determined at a future date. Hisle pleaded guilty on Nov. 14, 2014, to sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, and to enticing individuals to travel in interstate commerce for prostitution and transporting individuals in interstate commerce for prostitution.

Police arrested Hisle on April 8, 2014, in Louisville, Kentucky, after he drove a young woman from Cincinnati to Louisville to engage in prostitution at a Louisville motel. Subsequent investigation linked Hisle to the prostitution of multiple additional women in Ohio, Kentucky and elsewhere.

According to the evidence presented in court proceedings and documents filed in the case, Hisle physically assaulted several of the young women he exploited for prostitution, including striking one of the victims in the face when she threatened to run away. In furtherance of his sex trafficking scheme, Hisle controlled the women he prostituted by various means, including boards and locks which restricted the women’s ability to exit the dwelling where Hisle housed them when he was not transporting them for prostitution.

“This defendant preyed on vulnerable young victims and cruelly exploited them for his profit,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This sentence sends a clear message that the United States will not tolerate modern-day slavery and will work tirelessly to restore the rights and dignity of the victims of this crime.”

“The horrors of human trafficking cause unimaginable pain, desperation and despair,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John E. Kuhn Jr. of the Western District of Kentucky. “And the fear of violence and other reprisals all too often keep victims from reporting this heinous crime. My office is working hard to train our law enforcement partners so that we can recognize this tragic situation and then bring justice with a solid sentence for the defendants and an order of restitution for victims.”

“Protecting the civil rights of every individual in our community is one the FBI’s top criminal priorities,” said Special Agent in Charge Howard S. Marshall of the FBI’s Louisville Office. “We work closely with community leaders and our law enforcement partners to proactively target predators involved in human trafficking. These women were exploited as a reusable commodity by men that forced them to participate in the sex trafficking industry. Our agents and task force officers work tirelessly to address every civil rights allegation we receive; I am proud of the hard work they do to protect and rescue the victims that are unable to defend themselves.”

This case was investigated by the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda E. Gregory of the Western District of Kentucky and Trial Attorney William Nolan of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.