Defendant Kala Bray Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Trafficking Conspiracy

MEMPHIS, TN—Edward L. Stanton, III, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced today that Kala Bray, 18, pleaded guilty in federal court for her role in a conspiracy to engage in child sex trafficking and sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.

According to the indictment, in July and August of 2011, Bray and her co-defendant, Vincent Jones, recruited two Memphis-area juveniles and lured them to Houston, Texas with false promises of a trip to a water park. Bray and Jones plied the teens with drugs including Oxycontin and Xanax and made the juveniles engage in commercial sex acts both in Memphis and Houston for the financial benefit of Bray and Jones.

Bray faces up to a life sentence for the conspiracy charge. As part of the plea, the United States agreed to dismiss other charges related to the conspiracy. Bray is set to be sentenced on February 10, 2012.

“We cannot and will not tolerate the sexual exploitation of vulnerable teens for profit. Anyone who benefits from this exploitation will be held accountable and face severe penalties,” said United States Attorney Edward L. Stanton, III. “The Western District of Tennessee continues to build on its strong record of aggressively prosecuting sex trafficking crimes.”

“Protecting children from sexual exploitation and investigating those who victimize children remain top priorities for the FBI,” said A. Todd McCall, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Memphis Division of the FBI. “Today’s guilty plea is a result of our dedication to this task and the work we engage in with our partners in an effort to ensure children’s safety.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Memphis Police Department, and the Bartlett Police Department. Part of the conspiracy was investigated by the Houston FBI’s Human Trafficking Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Skrmetti is prosecuting the case.