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Spartanburg Man Pleads Guilty to Human Trafficking
A 19-year-old Spartanburg man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in children by force for the purposes of prostitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.
Dylan L. Patterson, 19, of Spartanburg, was indicted for his role in a human trafficking ring that operated in Spartanburg, Charlotte, North Carolina, Virginia, and other cities in the Southeastern states, authorities said.
Prosecutors allege that Patterson and his co-conspirators recruited minor victims and young women to work for them, and then instructed and supervised them on how to solicit and charge for commercial sex acts.
The indictment also states that the conspirators physically beat or threatened to physically beat the minor victims and young women to scare and control them.
Patterson is the fifth man to plead guilty in the conspiracy, which was investigated by agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Investigations, and the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.
According to evidence presented at the change of plea hearing, the conspiracy used backpage.com to advertise the young women for commercial sex acts.
Once a John answered the ad and arranged to meet the minor female or young woman at the hotel, the defendants would wait in an adjoining hotel room until the John arrived, paid the money, and completed the sex act with the minor female or young girl.
With a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and/or a fine of $250,000, and five years of supervised release, the case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins of the Greenville office for prosecution.
U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles stated that his office would continue to diligently fight human trafficking because such crimes impose a great personal and psychological toll on the victims and society as a whole.
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Key Facts
- State: South Carolina
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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