Woodbury Man Sentenced for Sex Trafficking a Minor and Interstate Prostitution
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 13, 2012 |
MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court in Minneapolis, a 52-year-old Woodbury man was sentenced for the sex trafficking of a 15-year-old girl and interstate transportation of an adult for purposes of prostitution. United States District Court Judge Patrick J. Schiltz sentenced Stevon Warren to 132 months in prison on one count of sex trafficking a minor and one count of interstate transportation to engage in prostitution pursuant to the Mann Act. On March 15, 2011, Warren was charged on both counts in a superseding indictment. A jury convicted him of those charges on August 18, 2011.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Warren recruited and transported the girl to engage in commercial sex acts, knowing she was under the age of 18. In addition, on one occasion between November of 2008 and March 18, 2009, Warren transported an adult female from Minnesota to Wisconsin for the purpose of having her engage in prostitution. Police learned of Warren’s activities through advertisements on Craigslist, the online auction site.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney LeeAnn K. Bell.
The U.S. Department of Justice reports that an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked within the U.S. each year. According to the Justice Department, the Twin Cities metropolitan area is one of the 15 largest human trafficking centers in the nation.