Samuel Nichols, Sex Trafficking, Illinois 2019

A federal judge has sentenced Samuel Nichols, 34, to life in prison for leading a sex trafficking operation that forced at least 12 women and children into commercial sex acts in Chicago and the suburbs.

Nichols, formerly of Chicago, was convicted on multiple counts of sex trafficking by a federal jury in Chicago last year.

According to the government's sentencing memorandum, Nichols 'led a sex trafficking operation that violently forced at least 12 women and children into the commercial sex trade.' Some of the minors were as young as 13 years old when Nichols trafficked them.

Nichols kept the money earned by his victims, often taking in $1,000 per day. He openly flaunted his role as a trafficker, flashing money in Instagram posts, having '#1 Pimp' tattooed on his stomach, and using the trafficking proceeds to fund a Chicago-area rap group that posted music videos on websites such as YouTube.

U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall sentenced Nichols to life in prison on Monday. The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI.

A co-defendant, Charles Fears, 26, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy and sex trafficking charges. Fears is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kendall on July 16, 2019.

Evidence in the case revealed that Nichols and Fears carried firearms and would often hit, slap and choke the victims who worked for them, including one incident in which Nichols beat a female so badly she had to be hospitalized. The pair also supplied the victims with drugs and alcohol while coercing them to participate in the commercial sex acts.

If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by logging on to www.missingkids.com/home or by calling 1-800-843-5678. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/federal-judge-sentences-sex-trafficker-life-prison