Cecil Jerome Hatchett, Human Trafficking, Montana 2023

A California man who helped transport a minor to Billings for prostitution was sentenced to five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, in a federal case that highlighted the ongoing threat of human trafficking in Montana.

Cecil Jerome Hatchett, 32, of Carmichael, California, pleaded guilty in January to transportation of a person with intent to engage in prostitution.

The crime occurred in April 2021, when law enforcement responded to a call by Quality Inn staff in Billings about possible commercial sex activity. Upon arrival, officers found an individual emerging from the motel room while buttoning up his shirt and Stella and Jane Doe in the room.

Law enforcement interviewed all three individuals and determined that the individual had responded to an ad in setting up the meeting and that Stella and the individual had corresponded about the potential sex encounter before he arrived in the room. Stella later admitted that when law enforcement arrived, she was in the midst of a commercial sex encounter.

The government further alleged that these events triggered a federal investigation into allegations of sex trafficking. Investigators found electronic messages between Hatchett and Stella discussing commercial sex appointments, including those that involved Jane Doe.

Hatchett also had rented the car that Stella and Jane Doe used to travel to Montana. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zeno B. Baucus and Bryan T. Dake prosecuted the case, and the FBI, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, Billings Police Department, Reno, Nevada, Police Department, and IRS conducted the investigation.

Hatchett was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters. Co-defendant Ashley Stella was previously sentenced to eight years in prison for transportation of a minor to engage in prostitution.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mt/pr/california-man-sentenced-five-years-prison-assisting-transportation-person-billings