Michael Deon Fulcher, Sex Trafficking, California 2022
A California man has been sentenced to life in prison for forcing a victim to engage in commercial sex across the country.
Michael Deon Fulcher, 54, of Gardena, was sentenced to life in prison and a lifetime of supervised release after a jury found Fulcher guilty in January.
Fulcher was convicted of sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, and interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.
The evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Fulcher used sexual assault, threats of violence, isolation, control, psychological manipulation, and emotional abuse to compel the victim to engage in commercial sex between April and June 2020.
Fulcher lured the physically injured victim into his car in Las Vegas by making false promises to help her, but then brought her to his home where he sexually assaulted her.
He then brought the victim to California, where he acted in concert with a co-defendant, Jonzie Hamilton, to compel the victim to engage in commercial sex acts over the course of several weeks.
Fulcher required the victim to follow his strict rules, threatened the victim with physical harm, confiscated her money and Social Security debit card, and even had an unlicensed dentist pull out her teeth.
Hamilton was previously sentenced on April 9 to 29 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to interstate transportation for prostitution.
The FBI Jackson Field Office, Gulfport Resident Agency investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Kate Alexander and Francisco Zornosa of the Civil Rights Division's Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit prosecuted the case, with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones for the Southern District of Mississippi.
The victim was forced to send Fulcher all of her earnings and was threatened with physical harm, controlled access to her phone, isolated from anyone she knew, and refused medical treatment for an existing chronic illness.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline can be reached at 1-888-373-7888.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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