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Boise Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Sex Trafficking of a Minor
A Boise man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking a minor, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
Michael Wayne Wade, 31, pleaded guilty on August 16, 2016, to sex trafficking of a minor. He was sentenced to 240 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release.
According to the plea agreement, agents with the Idaho Department of Probation and Parole arrested Wade for a felony probation violation in July of 2014. A Nokia Lumina cell phone was seized from Wade and examined by a detective with the Boise Police Department.
The cell phone contained texts with a minor and images of the minor, including one that was sexually explicit. The detective conducted open-source internet searches on Backpage.com and discovered that the images of the minor on Wade’s phone had been posted in an ad for “escort services” in Boise in July and November of 2014.
The investigation revealed that J.K., another individual, worked as a prostitute in Boise and admitted that Wade was the “boss” who “pimped her.” She also admitted to posting the minor as an escort on Backpage.com, using the images sent to her by Wade.
The minor was interviewed and admitted that she participated in a prostitution enterprise with J.K. She stated she sent the images of herself to Wade for the purpose of being posted on Backpage.com as an escort.
“This defendant callously victimized a minor,” said Olson. “This sentence demonstrates that such conduct will be punished severely, and that the law protects our children from those who seek to exploit and profit from them.”
Further investigation revealed recorded phone calls and text messages from Wade to J.K. and the minor. The text messages revealed that Wade knew the minor was 16 years old and encouraged her to “hustle all day.”
The case was investigated by the Boise Police Department, the FBI, and the Idaho Department of Probation and Parole, and was prosecuted with assistance from the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.
It was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Key Facts
- State: Idaho
- Category: Sex Crimes|Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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