Five predators who turned Oklahoma City’s streets into a hunting ground for children have been sentenced to a combined 38 years behind bars and ordered to pay $635,247 in restitution to their victims. At the center of the operation: Maurice M. Johnson, who in October 2014 began trafficking two girls—aged 14 and 15—and an adult female, treating them as commodities for cash.
Johnson didn’t work alone. He directed the 14-year-old victim to contact Tonya Gay Gum, known as ‘Carmen,’ who ran a network of at least twenty escort-line phone numbers listed in the Oklahoma City Yellow Pages. After the girl sent photos, Gum began booking commercial sex acts with her established clientele. Johnson drove the victims to hotels, homes, and businesses where men paid in cash for sex. Gum collected the money, split it with Johnson, and left the victims with nothing—not even dignity.
Gum was indicted on June 16, 2015, and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking on November 19, 2015. In August 2017, she was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release. Johnson, indicted December 3, 2014, pleaded guilty to child sex trafficking on January 30, 2015, and received 240 months—20 years—in prison, plus five years of supervised release.
The buyers—William M. Baker, Trung N. Duong, and Curtis A. Anthony—were not spared. Baker and Duong each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking, sentenced in August 2017 to 24 months in prison and five years supervised release. The precedent was set by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in February 2017: ignorance of a victim’s age is no defense if the buyer had a ‘reasonable opportunity to view’ the child.
Anthony went to trial and was convicted by a jury on June 19, 2017, on both conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking and substantive child sex trafficking. In October 2017, he was hit with a 120-month sentence—ten years—followed by five years of supervised release. All five defendants must register as sex offenders for 25 years post-release.
Today, Judge Robin J. Cauthron amended the judgments, ordering full restitution of $635,247—joint and severally liable across all defendants. Acting U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester stated, ‘Although the innocence of these children cannot be restored, we are pleased that the Court is holding the defendants responsible for paying for the future care and treatment caused by their crimes.’ The case was investigated by DHS and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys McKenzie Anderson and David Petermann.
Related Federal Cases
- Joshua Harring Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Trafficking in Tulsa · Oklahoma
- Gerald L. Brown Jr. Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Minors, Adults · Kansas
- Oklahoma Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Exploitation · Colorado
- Honduran National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Reentry · Oklahoma
- The Lonely Farmer’s Plea: A Bizarre Request from Chief Kelly · Oklahoma
Key Facts
- State: Oklahoma
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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