Federal Sentences Handed Down in Waco Prostitution Case

United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced that in Waco today, 24-year-old Dwayne Love, of Suisun City, California, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine for illegally transporting an individual across state lines to engage in prostitution.

On January 3, 2010, officers with the Killeen Police Department responded to a welfare concern call from a local motel. Family members of the victim, residing in California, had provided information to the Police Department that there was a female at that location who was being forced to participate in a prostitution ring. Upon arrival, officers located the victim in a room with Dwayne Love, Alexis Shabre Witherspoon, and another female victim. The victim confirmed to the officers that Love and Witherspoon had transported her and the other female victim from California for immoral purposes and that Witherspoon collected moneys for sexual activities performed by the victims and provided it to Dwayne Love.

Based on testimony and corroborating evidence, including cell phone records and information retrieved from Dwayne Love’s laptop computer, jurors convicted Love of the charge on August 31, 2010. On August 24, 2010, Witherspoon pled guilty to the same charge. On November 3, 2010, Witherspoon was sentenced to one year in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Killeen Police Department. The case was prosecuted for the government by Special Assistant United States Attorney Mary Kucera.