Memphis Man Pleads Guilty to Interstate Transportation for Purpose of Prostitution
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 31, 2011 |
MEMPHIS, TN—Edward L. Stanton, III, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee; Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice; and Todd McCall, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Memphis Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today that Charles Kizer, 52, pleaded guilty to violating the Mann Act by transporting an individual across state lines for the purpose of having her engage in prostitution.
As part of the plea, Kizer admitted that Between August 1, 2010 and September 1, 2010, Kizer drove an 18-year-old woman across state lines from Memphis, Tennessee to West Memphis, Arkansas, to engage in prostitution at a truck stop.
Kizer faces up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing has been set for December 9, 2011 before United States District Judge Samuel H. Mays.
In a brief filed yesterday, prosecutors wrote that if Kizer proceeded to trial, they expected to present evidence that Kizer violently beat the 18-year-old woman and another woman when they refused to engage in prostitution for him and threatened to kill them if they ever left him. Prosecutors also expected to present evidence that Kizer used the women’s crack cocaine addictions to manipulate them into prostituting for him.
“We will continue to aggressively prosecute people like Charles Kizer who prey upon and exploit the most vulnerable among us,” said United States Attorney Edward L. Stanton, III. “Even those who live at the edge of society in the shadow of addiction will get the protection to which they are entitled from the United States Department of Justice when their civil rights and liberties have been violated.”
“Commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking are issues the FBI considers top priorities,” said Todd McCall, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Memphis Field Office. “The Memphis Division of the FBI, in a cooperative effort with its law enforcement, prosecutorial, and community partners, will continue to actively investigate and address these civil rights violations.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Memphis Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Skrmetti and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Saeed Mody.