Alshura Tabil Annessa Frazier, Sex Trafficking, South Carolina 2015

Columbia Man Pleads to Sex Trafficking Charge

Columbia, South Carolina – Alshura Tabil Annessa Frazier, age 36, of Columbia, South Carolina has entered a guilty plea in federal court in Columbia, to sex trafficking of children, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a)(1) and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).

Frazier, who was arrested in 2015, was accused of recruiting a minor to perform sexual acts on clients for money. The minor, who was 16 years old at the time, was brought to Columbia, South Carolina from Myrtle Beach, where she had met Frazier. Frazier posted the minor on Backpage.com, a site known to be used for sex trafficking, and received 100% of the profits made from the prostitution.

According to evidence presented at the change of plea hearing, Frazier had sex with the minor when she was 16 years old and used one of his cell phones to video her and another prostitute with Frazier engaging in sexual activity when the minor was 16 or 17 years old.

In addition to the sex trafficking charges, Frazier was also accused of possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. On March 18, 2015, a Richland County deputy attempted to make a traffic stop on a car for failing to give a turn signal, but the car sped off and a chase took place. During the chase, a 10mm Glock pistol, cocaine, crack cocaine, and suspected Molly were found in a box that a prostitute working for Frazier had hidden in the woods.

The maximum penalty for the sex trafficking charge is life imprisonment and/or a fine of $250,000. The maximum penalty for the possession of a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime is also life imprisonment and/or a fine of $250,000.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Springdale Police Department, and Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorneys William K. Witherspoon and T. DeWayne Pearson of the Columbia office are prosecuting the case.

Related Federal Cases