Derrick L. Hayes, Sex Trafficking Children, Florida 2014
A St. Petersburg man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for his role in sex trafficking children.
Derrick L. Hayes, 27, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for engaging in the sex trafficking of children. He must also register as a sex offender.
Hayes pleaded guilty on September 25, 2014, to conspiring with his girlfriend, Keosha Renee Jones, to arrange for two 14-year-old victims to engage in prostitution in St. Petersburg in December 2012 and January 2013.
According to court documents, Hayes took the victims to a residence and directed them to engage in sex acts with his associates. His girlfriend, Jones, also took the victims to a hotel, where the victims engaged in additional sex acts for money.
Hayes visited the hotel regularly, collected the money, and directed the victims to engage in additional sex acts with his associates. In addition to beating and threatening Jones in the victims' presence, he also threatened the victims.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Clearwater Police Department, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Largo Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph W. Swanson and Stacie B. Harris.
This case is another example of the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse in the United States. Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, aims to combat this issue by marshaling federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Richard A. Lazzara on an undetermined date in 2014.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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