William Battle, Sex Trafficking Conspiracy, Pennsylvania 2024

SCRANTON - A Monroe County man has been sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison for his role in a sex trafficking conspiracy that forced or coerced women to engage in prostitution in northeastern Pennsylvania.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, William Battle, 29, of East Stroudsburg, was sentenced to 210 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion for participating in a conspiracy that forced or coerced women to engage in prostitution between 2011 and 2015.

Battle, who used the street name 'Buck,' previously pled guilty to conspiring with others to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.

The conviction and sentence resulted from an investigation into the activities of a street gang known as the 'Black P-Stones.' The fourth superseding indictment alleged that females were 'sexed-in' to the gang by being forced to engage in sex with male gang members; recruited and coerced to engage in prostitution; advertised as adult escorts on a website; provided with heroin and other drugs; and placed in various hotels/motels to work as prostitutes.

Gang members, including Battle, used threats, force, drugs, and intimidation to coerce females to engage in prostitution.

Judge Mannion also ordered the defendant to serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Battle must also comply with sex offender registration and notification requirements.

The leader of the Black P-Stones, Sirvonn Taylor, was previously sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. Other high-level gang members that have been sentenced in the case include: Jose Velasquez—17 ½ years' imprisonment; Jamiell Sims—12 ½ years' imprisonment; Arthur Taylor—7 years' imprisonment; and Jordan Capone—7 years' imprisonment.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/monroe-county-man-sentenced-17-years-imprisonment-role-sex-trafficking-conspiracy