Overcast 47°
Tag:

Human trafficking

News
PA Man Admits To Running Brutal Sex Trafficking Ring Across Four States PA Man Admits To Running Brutal Sex Trafficking Ring Across Four States
PA Man Admits To Running Brutal Sex Trafficking Ring Across Four States A Pennsylvania man has confessed to orchestrating a violent, multi-state sex trafficking operation that preyed on vulnerable women, federal prosecutors announced on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Philip Walker, 39, of Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion before United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania said. Between November 2019 and April 2022, Walker systematically recruited and lured adult women in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Florida, and Texas, exploiting them through t…

SHARE

by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Brothel Operator Forced Women Into Sex Acts In Bridgeton, Prosecutor Brothel Operator Forced Women Into Sex Acts In Bridgeton, Prosecutor
Brothel Operator Forced Women Into Sex Acts In Bridgeton, Prosecutor A 37-year-old Bridgeton man was arrested and charged on Saturday, Feb. 8 with human trafficking after running a brothel out of his home, authorities said. Moises Rodriguez-Martinez had been under investigation for a month after he kept inside an East Avenue residence for the purpose of performing paid sexual acts, Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said. The women were trafficked from Queens, Webb-McRae said. Rodriguez-Martinez was charged with human trafficking, promoting organized street crime and promoting prostitution, Webb-McRae said.

SHARE

by Sam Barron
News
PA Man Who Filmed Unconscious Rape Victims Sentenced To 25 Years: DOJ PA Man Who Filmed Unconscious Rape Victims Sentenced To 25 Years: DOJ
PA Man Who Filmed Unconscious Rape Victims Sentenced To 25 Years: DOJ A Pittsburgh man accused of raping unconscious women and trafficking them for commercial sex work has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, authorities announced on Friday, Jan. 31. Eric Jefferson, 41, was sentenced by United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan after being convicted of sex trafficking multiple women between June 2019 and April 2022, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti. Investigators said Jefferson invited women battling drug addiction to live with him at his Polish Hill home, where he provided them with narcotics in exchange for sex. He allegedly wit…

SHARE

by Jillian Pikora
News
Maryland Man Who Withheld Drugs From 'Dopesick' Women Forced Into Prostitution Gets Prison Time Maryland Man Who Withheld Drugs From 'Dopesick' Women Forced Into Prostitution Gets Prison Time
Maryland Man Who Withheld Drugs From 'Dopesick' Women Forced Into Prostitution Gets Prison Time A 36-year-old Maryland man who used women's' drug dependency to compel them to participate in commercial sex work for him up and down the East Coast will spend nearly two decades in prison, federal authorities announced. William O’Neil Murray III pleaded guilty in August 2024 to sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion over the course of several months in several states. On Monday, Jan. 13, Murray was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison and also ordered to pay his victims nearly $95,000 in restitution. “This sentencing is a powerful reminder that the FBI Richmond team will tir…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
News
Two Men Charged In Berks County Underage Human Trafficking Sting: DA Two Men Charged In Berks County Underage Human Trafficking Sting: DA
Two Men Charged In Berks County Underage Human Trafficking Sting: DA Two men have been charged in connection with an undercover operation targeting underage human trafficking in Berks County, authorities announced on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Keith George Manwiller, 49, of Hummelstown, and Mathew Christian Koroma, 23, of Sinking Spring, were arrested during the sting conducted by the Berks County District Attorney’s Human Trafficking Task Force, according to Chief County Detective Michael Gombar. Both men are accused of responding to online ads placed by detectives on websites commonly used for sexual advertisements. The suspects allegedly agreed to meet and p…

SHARE

by Jillian Pikora
News
Former PA Senate Chaplain Charged In Sex Trafficking Sting Former PA Senate Chaplain Charged In Sex Trafficking Sting
Former PA Senate Chaplain Charged In Sex Trafficking Sting A Cumberland County pastor faces serious charges after allegedly patronizing a massage parlor at the center of a human trafficking investigation, according to court documents obtained by Daily Voice Wednesday, Nov. 27. Stephen Robert Melton, 65, of Mechanicsburg, a pastor at Big Spring Presbyterian Church in Newville, is accused of paying for sex acts at least 68 times over five months at GL Massage Spa in Carlisle. The charges, filed by the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, include: Felony Patronizing a Victim of Human Trafficking with Reckless Disregard Misdemeanor…

SHARE

by Jillian Pikora
News
PA Doctor Accused Of Exploiting 13-Year-Old Girl, Possessing Child Pornography PA Doctor Accused Of Exploiting 13-Year-Old Girl, Possessing Child Pornography
PA Doctor Accused Of Exploiting 13-Year-Old Girl, Possessing Child Pornography ** Warning: The following details may be disturbing to some readers. ** A former Lancaster County family medicine physician is facing felony charges for sexually exploiting a 13-year-old girl and possessing child pornography, according to police, public records, and court documents. Frank Yang Liu, 33, of Manheim, was charged after an investigation by the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, the Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department (NLCRPD), and Lancaster County detectives. Authorities allege Liu used Instagram to exchange explicit messages and images …

SHARE

by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Father-Daughter Who Led Human Trafficking Ring Arrested: PA AG Father-Daughter Who Led Human Trafficking Ring Arrested: PA AG
Father-Daughter Who Led Human Trafficking Ring Arrested: PA AG A father and daughter who authorities say was the leader of a long-running human trafficking ring have been arrested, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office announced on Tuesday, Oct. 22. Terrance L. Jones, 52, has been arrested leading to the disbanding of the Philadelphia-based human trafficking ring and charges against 22 people, according to PA AG. Jones had posed as a woman, known as Julia, to recruit commercial sex workers, who were then taken to and from "dates" by drivers Jones hired, the attorney general's office said. He ran the operation from his residence from 2012 through …

SHARE

by Merriell Moyer
News
Bethlehem Man Gets 5 Years For Sexually Assaulting Girl He Met On Snapchat: Prosecutor Bethlehem Man Gets 5 Years For Sexually Assaulting Girl He Met On Snapchat: Prosecutor
Bethlehem Man Gets 5 Years For Sexually Assaulting Girl He Met On Snapchat: Prosecutor A 33-year-old Bethlehem, PA man was sentenced to five years in New Jersey State Prison on Friday, Sept. 27, after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in 2022, authorities said. Garry Bunting was initially charged with human trafficking of a minor, sexual assault, and other offenses in January 2022 after he met up with a 16-year-old girl he talked to on Snapchat, took her from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, and “engaged her in multiple sexual acts,” the Warren County Prosecutor's Office said. Bunting also pled guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and attempted enda…

SHARE

by Sam Barron
News
PA Man Took 5-Year-Old To VA, NY For Sex: USDOJ PA Man Took 5-Year-Old To VA, NY For Sex: USDOJ
PA Man Took 5-Year-Old To VA, NY For Sex: Usdoj A 54-year-old Pennsylvania man has been sentenced after admitting to taking a 5-year-old girl for sex in Virginia and New York, the US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday, Sept. 25.  John Oathout, of Harrisburg, PA, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes in Syracuse, NY on Friday, Sept. 20. He'll serve 25 years in federal prison followed by 20 years of supervised release, and he'll be a registered sex offender for the remainder of his life, according to the USDOJ release.  Oathout admitted to taking the 5-year-old girl on trips out of state w…

SHARE

by Jillian Pikora
News
Bethlehem Man Paid $24K+ To Filipino Child Sex Traffickers: USDOJ Bethlehem Man Paid $24K+ To Filipino Child Sex Traffickers: USDOJ
Bethlehem Man Paid $24K+ To Filipino Child Sex Traffickers: Usdoj A 49-year-old Pennsylvania man has been sentenced for paying and directing "livestreamed sexual abuse of Filipino children," the US Department of Justice announced on Friday night, Aug. 2.  Harold "Harry" C. Daleus (also known as Dalaeus), Jr., 49, of Bethlehem, was sentenced to 20 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for the production of child pornography and related offenses, United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero detailed in the release.  Daleus sent over $24,000 to the Philippines over several years, "in order to view the live transmiss…

SHARE

by Jillian Pikora