Tion Makeise Foster, Sex Trafficking of a Minor, California 2016

Sex Trafficking Ring Cracked in Northern California: A 23-year-old man from Point Arena, California, has been sentenced to 12.5 years in prison for sex trafficking a 16-year-old girl.

Tion Makeise Foster, 23, was sentenced by United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on an unknown date. According to court documents, Foster and his co-defendant, Monica Morales, recruited the minor to engage in commercial sex acts for their financial benefit in August 2016.

The defendants contacted the minor using a social media website called MocoSpace and then transported her around Northern California, where she was forced to engage in sex acts for their benefit for approximately one week. During that time, Foster and Morales posted photos of the victim in online prostitution advertisements.

After returning the victim to Yuba County, Foster and Morales contacted her again in December 2016, planning to traffic her again. However, Foster was arrested in Citrus Heights following a local undercover operation. In a separate state case, Foster used the internet to recruit a person he believed to be a 17-year-old girl for sex trafficking activity, but who was actually an undercover officer.

Codefendant Monica Morales was previously sentenced to over 10 years in prison in this case. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Michele Beckwith prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Foster's crimes are a stark reminder of the dangers of online predators and the need for increased vigilance in protecting our children from exploitation. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and provide updates as more information becomes available.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/man-sentenced-over-12-years-sex-trafficking-minor