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Dallas Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Sex Trafficking
A Dallas man who called himself ‘Macknificent’ was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for human trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
Tremont Blakemore, 43, was first charged in September 2019. He pleaded guilty in April to sex trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion. He was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Ada Brown, who ordered him to turn over several trophies – including one engraved ‘Playa of the Year’ – to the federal government. She also ordered him to forfeit several Rolex watches and diamond and gold jewelry.
According to court documents, Blakemore ran a large-scale human trafficking organization, using the threat of grotesque violence to force women to engage in commercial sex acts for his financial benefit. He compelled the women to travel cross-country to engage in commercial sex and posted ads for them on sites like Backpage.com. He demanded that the women turn all proceeds over to him and required them to seek permission for personal expenditures.
Blakemore further admitted that when his victims disobeyed his ‘rules’ – leaving the house without his permission, keeping money for themselves, etc. – he used violence to quell them into submission. According to court documents, victims told law enforcement that he slapped, punched, choked, kicked, and burned them with cigarettes.
In an effort to appear successful in order to recruit additional victims to his trafficking organization, Blakemore admitted that he used proceeds of his victim’s sexual encounters to purchase luxury goods, including multiple pieces of diamond and gold jewelry and multiple Rolex watches. He flouted his lifestyle to impress other traffickers, and even sported multiple trophies touting his success as a ‘pimp.’
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office with the assistance of the Oakridge Police Department, the Dallas Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, and the North Texas Trafficking Task Force’s law enforcement partners. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicole Dana and Melanie Smith prosecuted the case.
U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham said, ‘This defendant systematically brutalized his victims, convincing them that they had no choice but to live life according to his dictates. We formed the North Texas Trafficking Task Force – a coalition of federal, state, and local law enforcement dedicated to ending the scourge of human trafficking – to pursue cases just like this one. We hope that today’s sentence will be a balm to survivors as they work to rebuild their lives.’
HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Lester R. Hayes Jr. said, ‘Tremont Blakemore can no longer flaunt a life of luxury through the proceeds he illegally garnered by forcing women into the commercial sex trade industry thanks to the work of our special agents and law enforcement partners of the North Texas Trafficking Task Force who investigated and arrested this violent criminal. For the next twenty years, Mr. Blakemore will have time to reflect on the pain he caused those he subjugated for his own selfish gains. Our hope is that the victims he forcefully manipulated will begin the healing process now that he is no longer a threat to society.’
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Sex Crimes|Human Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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