Szczerba Gets 11+ Years in Prostitution Trafficking

ST. LOUIS, MO – Thomas Szczerba, 33, of Houston, Texas, will spend the next 140 months in federal prison after being sentenced for his role in a brutal human trafficking operation. Szczerba transported a victim across three states – Texas, Illinois, and Wisconsin – ultimately bringing her to the Eastern District of Missouri to be exploited for profit.

The evidence presented at the five-day trial before United States District Court Judge Henry E. Autrey painted a grim picture of control and abuse. Szczerba and his co-defendant, Keisha Edwards, lured the victim from Houston, offering her what turned out to be a life of forced prostitution. Testimony revealed that Szczerba didn’t just facilitate the exploitation; he actively managed it, scheduling ‘dates,’ collecting the money, and dictating the victim’s movements.

Szczerba’s control extended to branding the victim with an alias, aligning it with the moniker he used for himself and other women he forced into the sex trade. The operation relied heavily on online advertising, with the victim posted on sites like Backpage.com and a dedicated prostitution website maintained by Szczerba and Edwards. The callousness of the scheme reached a peak in Missouri, where Szczerba forced the victim into commercial sex acts that ultimately led her to require medical attention at a local hospital.

The jury convicted Szczerba in February 2017 on four serious federal charges: interstate transportation of an individual to engage in prostitution, conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, use of facilities of interstate commerce with intent to aide a prostitution enterprise, and use of facilities in interstate commerce with intent to distribute proceeds from prostitution. The breadth of these charges underscores the multi-state nature and deliberate planning of the trafficking operation.

Szczerba’s accomplice, Keisha Edwards, pleaded guilty in February 2017 to two counts – use of facilities of interstate commerce with intent to aide a prostitution enterprise and use of facilities in interstate commerce with intent to distribute proceeds from prostitution. She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 24, 2017, and faces her own penalties for involvement in this heinous crime.

The investigation, led by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, brought this operation to light and secured a significant conviction. While Szczerba’s 140-month sentence offers a measure of justice, it serves as a stark reminder of the pervasive and devastating impact of human trafficking, and the continued need for vigilance and proactive law enforcement.