ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – A 26-year-old Vinton man was sentenced to 156 months in federal prison for sex trafficking a minor, announced United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. today.
Terrell Banker, 26, of Vinton, Va., was convicted by a jury of one count of conspiring to engage in the sex trafficking of a minor, one count of engaging in the sex trafficking of a minor and one count of persuading or enticing a minor to engage in prostitution in October 2015.
Banker’s co-defendant, Laura Cook, previously pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in the sex trafficking of a minor and was sentenced to 58 months in prison earlier this year. The victims in the case were a 17-year-old resident of Salem, Virginia who was lured into the sex trafficking ring via the Internet.
According to evidence presented at Banker’s trial and Cook’s guilty plea hearing, Victim One began socializing with Cook in February 2015, and was eventually introduced to Banker who provided various illegal drugs to the group. Cook asked Banker to provide Victim One with methamphetamine, and on at least one occasion, Banker took payment for the drugs he provided in the form of sex with Victim One.
In March 2015, Victim One ran away from home and was harbored by Cook. Banker and Cook then decided that Victim One would be prostituted as a way to earn money. Banker arranged a prostitution encounter for Victim One, transported her to take part in the commercial sex act and took payment from the “John.”
“Sex trafficking is an international crisis that not only impacts men and women overseas but, tragically, is rooted in cities and towns all across our country,” said United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. “This case was particularly tragic because it involved the trafficking of a minor, a girl of just seventeen at the time of the incident. It is encouraging, however, that law enforcement helped identify the trafficking behavior and put an early end to what could have been a very long and painful run of abuse by these two defendants.”
“Human trafficking is one of the most heinous crimes we investigate,” said Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. “Victims are often vulnerable, and their traffickers prey on those vulnerabilities, trapping them in a cycle they can’t break free from. No person – especially a minor – should have to endure this treatment. Today’s sentence marks a win for law enforcement. One more trafficker is off the streets and will have to face the consequences of his actions behind bars.”
The investigation of the case was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Roanoke City Police Department and the Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony P. Giorno and Laura D. Rottenborn prosecuted the case for the United States.
Related Federal Cases
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- Richmond Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Transporting Minor · West Virginia
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Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Sex Crimes|Human Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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