India Tykeyah-Najee Cuyler, Sex Trafficking, South Carolina 2019

A Columbia woman was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for using a facility of interstate commerce to entice a minor under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activity.

India Tykeyah-Najee Cuyler, 26, also known as “Lady Tank,” was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison, after pleading guilty in February 2019 to the crime.

Cuyler’s co-defendant, Donnell Salethian Woodard, 33, also of Columbia, was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in February 2021, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to sex traffic minors and benefiting from sex trafficking of minors.

The investigation revealed that Cuyler and Woodard were using a cell phone to post photographs and advertisements for commercial sex with the minors on a website and taking a portion of the proceeds.

The minors had sometimes up to ten meetings per day at various hotel rooms rented by Woodard.

During the sentencing, United States District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs also ordered Cuyler to make restitution to the victims involved and to register as a sex offender.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Lexington Police Department, and the West Columbia Police Department, and was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.

Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office prosecuted the case.

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