TUCSON, AZ—On June 26, 2014, Marques West, 30, of Glendale, AZ was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cynthia K. Jorgenson to 160 months’ imprisonment followed by five years’ supervised release. West pleaded guilty on April 17, 2014, to one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in in prostitution.

Sometime between January 20, 2013, and January 29, 2013, West transported a minor female from El Paso, Texas, to Tucson, Arizona, with the intent that the minor female engage in commercial sex acts.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Tucson Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tucson. The prosecution was handled by Karen Rolley and Arturo Aguilar, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Tucson.