Nathan Nicholson, Sex Trafficking of Minors, Illinois 2023

CHICAGO – A Chicago father and his twin sons are facing decades behind bars after being sentenced for a depraved sex trafficking operation that preyed on vulnerable minors. The scheme, orchestrated by NATHAN NICHOLSON, involved grooming his sons to act as pimps and exploiting young girls for financial gain.

NICHOLSON, 45, of Chicago, used his sons, TYRELLE LOCKETT and MYRELLE LOCKETT, to lure minor girls from Chicago-area malls, promising them money for dates. The operation quickly escalated into horrific abuse. Victims were brought to an abandoned house, subjected to degrading photography, and forced into sexual acts with the twins as a “test” before being forced into commercial sex acts. NICHOLSON pocketed the profits from their exploitation.

The depravity didn’t stop at city limits. TYRELLE LOCKETT, 24, of Chicago Heights, and MYRELLE LOCKETT, 24, of Chicago Heights, expanded the business, traveling to Indiana multiple times to transport victims – including minors – to Chicago. They even forcibly brought a young woman from Minnesota to NICHOLSON’s home, but she bravely escaped and alerted authorities. The callous disregard for these victims is staggering.

U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow delivered the sentences this week. NICHOLSON pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of a minor and received 16 years and eight months in federal prison, along with an order to pay $68,400 in restitution to two victims. TYRELLE LOCKETT and MYRELLE LOCKETT, each pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in prostitution and were each sentenced to 17 years and eight months. TYRELLE must pay $9,050 to three victims, while MYRELLE owes $75,600 to one victim.

The announcement of the sentences came from Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Joel R. Levin, along with Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago FBI Office, and Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart. The investigation involved a multi-agency effort, including assistance from the Indianapolis FBI Office and various local police departments across Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota.

Four survivors bravely testified at the sentencing hearings, detailing the horrific coercion and abuse they endured. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Renai S. Rodney and Shoba Pillay argued that the defendants’ actions were “driven by his greed and perverse sexual desires,” inflicting lasting trauma on numerous victims. “The ripple effects of his conduct will be felt for years to come,” they stated. This case serves as a chilling reminder of the predators lurking in our communities and the devastating impact of human trafficking.