Leader of Group from New York Charged with Offering to Sell Women Sentenced to 36 Months’ Imprisonment

NORFOLK, VA—Prince Lee, 21, of New York, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to transport persons for prostitution.

Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and James Cervera, Chief of Police, Virginia Beach Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.

Lee pleaded guilty on October 3, 2013. According to court documents, on May 15, 2013, Prince Lee and a young woman posted an advertisement on craigslist.com in Hampton Roads offering to sell the woman as a “sex slave” for $10,000. The Virginia Beach Police Department was monitoring the site and came across the advertisement and responded. An undercover officer spoke with Prince Lee, and Lee agreed to sell three women for approximately $225,000. They agreed to meet in Virginia Beach on June 1, 2013. Prince Lee and co-defendant Henry Olson recruited Jane Doe 1, a 30-year-old also from New York, and told the woman she would receive $10,000 just to “hang out” with a friend of Prince Lee’s in Virginia. After much persuasion, she agreed. Co-defendant Arielle Pierre and Prince Lee also recruited Jane Doe 2 to spend a few hours with the man. Neither of the women was told that they were being “sold” to the man. Lee, Olson, Pierre, and two others drove with the Jane Does from New York and arrived in Virginia Beach on the morning of June 1, 2013. Under observation by the police, Lee and Pierre were seen yelling at and grabbing the Jane Doe 2, trying to force the woman to remain and go to the “date.” Jane Doe 2 eventually ran into a nearby hotel, where employees hid her in the back room. Prince Lee also threatened to desert Jane Doe 1 in Virginia and throw away her car keys if she did not go forward with the plan. In the afternoon of June 1, the undercover officer arrived for the “date,” and all defendants were arrested. Pierre was sentenced on January 8, 2014, to 12 months in jail. Olson is scheduled to be sentenced on January 29, 2014.

This case was investigated by the Virginia Beach Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Yusi prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.