A 29-year-old Maryland man was sentenced to 11 years in prison for sex trafficking a minor, a crime that involved a 15-year-old runaway and prostitution.
Thomas Sean Tinsley, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander in the District of Maryland, according to a statement from United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein and other officials.
Tinsley, a registered sex offender, met the victim near the Gallery Mall in downtown Baltimore in May 2013 and invited her to live with him at his residence, a motel on Caton Avenue in Baltimore.
According to court documents, Tinsley began having sex with the victim and encouraged her to engage in prostitution to pay for the motel room and to provide him with additional money.
The victim routinely met with prostitution clients and communicated with Tinsley regarding her client interactions, including the location of the commercial sex and the identity of her patrons.
Tinsley monitored the victim’s commercial sex activities and gave her instructions regarding her client interactions, including telling her to collect cash before the commercial sex.
The case was investigated by the FBI-led Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force (MCETF), which coordinates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Maryland State Police Child Recovery Unit to identify missing children being advertised online for prostitution.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Baltimore Police Department, and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution.
Tinsley’s 11-year prison sentence, followed by 35 years of supervised release, is a result of his plea agreement, which included the fact that he was a registered sex offender and had previously been convicted of having sex with a minor female in 2007.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow prosecuted the case, and Tinsley’s sentence was announced by United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department, and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.
The Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, formed in 2007, worked with the MCETF to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders.
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