Devin Smith, Sex Trafficking, Michigan 2015

A Jackson man has been convicted of sex trafficking by force, using his victims for sex acts with strangers for money multiple times a day.

Devin Smith, 29, was found guilty by a federal jury in Ann Arbor yesterday of sex trafficking several women and one minor victim, using force and coercion.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Smith used physical violence, fear, and crack cocaine to maintain control over his victims, moving them around various hotels in southeastern Michigan.

The victims attempted to flee from these hotels, with one victim calling 911 from a dumpster in Livonia and another flagging down a Southfield police officer.

One of the victims was 16 years old when she was prostituted and beaten by Smith, and was rescued by the FBI during an annual initiative known as Operation Cross Country in July 2013.

Smith faces a minimum of 15 years in federal prison at his sentencing on March 11, 2015.

U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade and Paul M. Abbate, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, announced the conviction.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/pr/jackson-man-convicted-sex-trafficking-force