Brittany N. Stenberg, Transporting Minor for Sex, IN 2024

SOUTH BEND — A 10-year federal prison sentence slammed down on Brittany N. Stenberg, 30, of South Bend, Indiana, after she admitted to transporting a minor across state lines for sex work. The conviction, for transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, marks a grim chapter in a case that exposed the brutal mechanics of child exploitation.

U.S. District Judge Jon E. DeGuilio handed down the 120-month sentence in South Bend federal court, followed by five years of court-monitored supervised release. Stenberg now faces a decade behind bars for actions that prosecutors say preyed on a vulnerable child and exploited them for illicit gain.

Court documents lay bare the timeline: from September 30, 2014, to October 3, 2014, Stenberg transported the minor from northern Indiana into Cook County, Illinois, with the specific intent to push them into prostitution. The four-day stretch of predation crossed both geographic and moral boundaries, triggering federal jurisdiction and a full FBI investigation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the probe, working in tandem with the Cook County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Department to piece together evidence and confirm the nature of Stenberg’s crimes. Coordination between federal and local law enforcement underscored the seriousness with which authorities treat the trafficking of juveniles.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Maciejczyk and Molly Donnelly prosecuted the case, pushing for accountability in a crime that leaves lasting scars. Their work culminated in a plea agreement that removed the need for trial, but not the weight of justice.

Brittany N. Stenberg’s name now stands as a warning in the grim ledger of human trafficking cases across the Midwest. Her sentence reflects federal zero-tolerance for those who profit from the sexual exploitation of children.