Arthur James Chappell, Sex Trafficking of a Minor, Sex Crimes, Minnesota 2012

MINNEAPOLIS—In a shocking display of corruption, 40-year-old Arthur James Chappell has been sentenced for running a prostitution operation in the Twin Cities that exploited underage and young women.

United States District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen handed down the sentence of 336 months in federal prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, on multiple charges including sex trafficking a minor, possession of child pornography, conspiracy to produce child pornography, and more.

Chappell, also known as AJ and J, was indicted on April 4, 2012, and was convicted on October 24, 2012, following trial.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Chappell ran a multi-state prostitution ring from August 2006 through July 2007. He recruited two girls under the age of 18 to engage in commercial sex acts as part of his business.

In addition, Chappell possessed one or more items containing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, conspired with others to possess such depictions, and induced or coerced a child to engage in conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography.

Chappell also enticed or coerced two adult females to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution in July 2007. Between August of 2006 and July of 2007, he conspired to persuade other women to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Bloomington Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

It is estimated that 2.4 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking at any one time, with 80 percent of them being exploited as sex slaves, according to Yuri Fedotov, the head of the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crime.

For more information, visit http://www.ice.gov/human-trafficking/.

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