Ohio Man and Woman Indicted on Charges of Transporting a Minor Across State Lines for Purposes of Prostitution

RICHMOND, VA—Calvin L. Winbush, 43, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio; and Sonora Armstrong, 30, of Cleveland, Ohio, were indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges of transporting a minor across state lines for purposes of prostitution and conspiracy to do so. Winbush was arrested on February 10, 2012 after being charged in a criminal complaint with the substantive offense. Armstrong was taken into federal custody this morning.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Michael A. Morehart, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; and D.A. Middleton, Chief of Police for the Henrico County Division of Police, made the announcement after Armstrong’s initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge M. Hannah Lauck. Winbush and Armstrong face a minimum sentence of 10 years’ incarceration and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment on each count if convicted.

According to the indictment, Armstrong, who used the nickname “Seashell” worked as a prostitute for Winbush, known as “Good Game.” The indictment alleges that in December 2011, Armstrong recruited a 15-year-old female, Jane Doe, to work as a prostitute for Winbush. On or about December 30, 2011, Winbush, Armstrong, Jane Doe and another female traveled from Ohio to Virginia to engage in prostitution. On January 3, 2012, Henrico County Division of Police responded to a call for assistance from a hotel in Henrico, where they discovered the defendants and the juvenile female.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Henrico County Division of Police, Vice Unit, as part of an ongoing initiative between the FBI and HCPD targeting persons engaged in human trafficking. Assistant United States Attorney Jamie L. Mickelson is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.