Eugene Man Sentenced for Trafficking Minors

PORTLAND, OR—Stanley Mack Spriggs, Jr., a.k.a. “Bug,” 28, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison yesterday by U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown after pleading guilty on October 31, 2011 to separate counts in an indictment charging him with the sex trafficking of two minors. Spriggs was also sentenced to five years of supervised release ordered to pay a total of $23,204 in restitution to the victims.

“Safeguarding minors from the commercial sexual exploitation of children or child sex trafficking has never been more urgent,” stated U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. “It is not only a top priority of Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department, it is a top priority for me personally, and I pledge to do everything in my power to stop it. We’re working with law enforcement and government agencies—as well as nonprofit and advocacy organizations—like never before, and we’ve brought a record number of offenders to justice. This defendant sexually exploited two young girls for his own financial gain. His actions were deplorable, and the 188-month sentence imposed by the court goes a long way towards achieving justice for these two young women.”

The federal charges come after a lengthy investigation conducted by the Eugene Police Department and FBI. In 2008, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies were investigating Spriggs and other local area pimps and gang members in Eugene, Salem, and Portland. During the investigation, agents found over 100 women and children in the Eugene area who were working as prostitutes and posting commercial sex advertisements online through Craigslist.com.

The current federal indictment alleges that Stanley Mack Spriggs, Jr. and his co-defendants were involved in a conspiracy to recruit, entice, and provide minor victims, identified as “K.F.” and “N.W.,” to engage in commercial sex acts for money. Defendant and others would take photographs of the minors that were used in commercial sex advertisements that were placed with Craigslist’s online advertising services. Spriggs rented hotel rooms and drove the minors to the homes or places of customers who paid money to engage in sexual acts with the minors. Spriggs was fully aware of K.F. and N.W.’s minor status. He provided K.F. with false identification documents and instructed her to use them in the event the police made contact with her. Furthermore, Spriggs would not allow the minors to make phone calls or otherwise contact family or friends. According to K.F., “He would not let me out of his sight; I was not allowed to be more than an arm’s length away from them.”

This case was brought through the Oregon Human Trafficking Task Force (OHTTF). The OHTTF was created in May of 2005. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the task force provides a comprehensive, collaborative approach to combat human trafficking through partnerships between federal, state, local law enforcement, social service providers, and other government and non-government agencies. To provide a local tip on a human trafficking please call Multnomah County Sheriff Deputy Sgt. Keith Bickford at 503-251-2479. You can also report human trafficking tip to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373- 7888 or go online to NHTRC@PolarisProject.org.

This case was investigated by the FBI and Eugene Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kemp L. Strickland.