Duane Phillips, Sex Trafficking, Louisiana 2024

Sex Trafficking Scheme Used Threats, Violence and Coercion to Compel Women into Prostitution in New Orleans and Elsewhere

Three additional defendants pleaded guilty in connection with a sex trafficking scheme operated out of the Riviera Motel in New Orleans, Louisiana, which compelled multiple women to engage in prostitution in New Orleans and elsewhere, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite Jr. of the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Defendants Duane Phillips, 29, and Christopher Williams, 30, both of whom are residents of Memphis, Tennessee, each pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit sex trafficking of adult victims by force, fraud and coercion in New Orleans and elsewhere. Defendant Anthony Ellis, 26, also of Memphis, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit sex trafficking of adult victims and one count of transportation for purposes of prostitution.

“The Justice System will not tolerate trafficking in human beings, and will continue to relentlessly pursue justice on behalf of vulnerable members of our society, whether they are migrants from beyond our borders or whether they are young women from our own communities,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta. “We will continue in our steadfast determination to hold accountable those who use force and coercion to exploit other human beings.”

“These defendants recruited vulnerable victims from the New Orleans community and brought other victims to New Orleans to engage in commercial sex trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney Polite. “These crimes often pass without detection because victims live in fear from physical abuse, threats and other forms of coercion. My office is committed to prosecuting individuals who manipulate victims into committing commercial sex acts and profit from this illegal conduct.”

Two defendants have previously pleaded guilty in connection with the case. On June 25, 2014, defendant Zacchaeus Taylor pleaded guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy and to Transportation for Purposes of Prostitution. On March 4, 2015, Laquentin Brown pleaded guilty to the same charges. Each face a maximum of five years on the conspiracy count and a maximum of 10 years on the transportation for prostitution count.

The investigation and prosecution of this case serves as a reminder to all those individuals engaged in the heinous crime of sex trafficking that the full force of federal law enforcement, across geographical boundaries, will bring them to swift justice. The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and local law enforcement agencies worked together to bring these defendants to justice.

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