BATON ROUGE, LA – A 32-year-old man has been sentenced to 9 years in prison for conspiring to traffic a child in the commercial sex trade.
U.S. District Judge James Brady sentenced Erick Banks to 108 months imprisonment for his role in the crime. Banks was also sentenced to 5 years supervised release after his imprisonment and ordered to pay the victim $1,200 in restitution.
According to court documents, in January 2011, Banks enticed a 15-year-old girl to engage in acts of prostitution. The victim had run away from a Baton Rouge home for teenage girls just days before. Banks placed ads on an online service, using the monikers ‘Sinsational’ and ‘Blonde Bunny’ to describe the victim.
The victim was paid approximately $1,200 in five separate transactions, which were all coordinated by Banks and occurred in a hotel in Baton Rouge. Each transaction involved the victim engaging in sexual activity in exchange for money, with Banks taking all of it for himself.
‘We will not tolerate the sexual exploitation and trafficking of vulnerable, young teenagers,’ said Acting United States Attorney Walt Green. ‘This significant sentence serves notice to others inclined to engage in such despicable conduct.’
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Baton Rouge Police Department. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Frederick A. Menner, Jr. and Susan C. Amundson.
The victim’s courage in coming forward has been praised by authorities, who hope it will inspire other victims of sex trafficking to do the same. ‘We are inspired by the courage of the victim in this case,’ said Green. ‘We appreciate the strong work of the FBI and the Baton Rouge Police Department and commend the Middle District Human Trafficking Task Force for its efforts in educating law enforcement and the public about this issue.’
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Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Category: Sex Crimes|Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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