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Camden Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking of Minor
A Camden man has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor after posting an online advertisement, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Aaron J. Gray, 29, of Camden, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan to one count of sex trafficking of a minor. Gray previously was charged in a criminal complaint with co-defendants Aja M. Easley, 22, of Camden, and Kenneth A. Mertz, 35, of Collingswood, with sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor. Gray also was charged in the complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court, on March 2, 2015, Aja Easley communicated with the victim, a minor, using a popular social media website. Easley told the victim she was “worried about” the victim because of a previous assault by the victim’s ex-boyfriend. She offered the victim money, food, clothing, and shelter, and met the victim at the Camden Transportation Center. There, Easley told the victim about a “dating website,” and said that the victim could make money through the website by going on “dates.” Easley and the victim later met Gray and Mertz at a residence in Camden.
Easley, Mertz, and Gray agreed to advertise the minor online for commercial sex acts for the purpose of earning money. To do so, Gray, Mertz, and Easley drove the minor to a motel in Cherry Hill. At the motel, Gray and Easley convinced the victim to engage in commercial sex acts. Using her cellular telephone, Easley took provocative photos of the victim, and uploaded them to an online advertisement that she had created advertising the victim for commercial sex acts.
After the advertisement was online, Easley used her cellular telephone to communicate with multiple individuals who responded to the advertisement seeking to engage in commercial sex acts with the minor. Gray gave the victim instructions on what to do when the respondents arrived. Easley instructed the victim to tell the individuals that, regardless of her real age, that she was 21 years old. Easley also instructed the victim how much time each individual could spend with the victim at the motel and how much each individual owed the victim.
The count to which Gray pleaded guilty carries a statutory mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, a statutory maximum of life in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 3, 2017. Easley, the co-defendant, previously pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of a minor and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 22, 2016, to one count of sex trafficking of a minor.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Sex Crimes|Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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