Source: United States Department of Justice News
DETROIT, MI – Marvin Booker, 30, of Warren, MI, was sentenced in federal court for coercion and enticement of a minor, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today. Booker was sentenced by United States District Judge Gershwin Drain to ten years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Booker has been in custody since his arrest in March 2020.
Joining in the announcement was Josh Hauxhurst, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and William Dwyer, Commissioner for the Warren Police Department.
According to court records, Booker sexually exploited a 16-year-old girl for his own profit by having her perform commercial sex dates. Booker posted the minor for dates online, transported her to dates and rented hotel rooms, and took money that the minor was paid for performing sex acts. In addition, Booker instructed the victim to send sexually explicit images to him for the online advertisements.
“Human traffickers like this defendant exploit and endanger some of the most vulnerable members of our society and cause their victims indescribable harm,” stated U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison. “He manipulated, threatened, and trafficked a minor victim to profit from the sex work she conducted. We hope that today’s sentence offers the victim a sense of justice and closure and sends the message that we will not tolerate sex trafficking in our communities.”
“This defendant preyed upon a very vulnerable teenager by promising her shelter, money, and affection. Instead of providing those things, he callously sold her to other men for his own financial benefit,” said Josh Hauxhurst, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Division. “The FBI, Warren Police Department, and law enforcement partners across Southeast Michigan will work tirelessly to protect our children from this type of predatory behavior.”
“Our Detectives did an excellent job in advocating for this minor victim survivor and pursuing charges in partnership with the FBI,” said William Dwyer, Commissioner for the Warren Police Department. “Warren will continue to have zero tolerance for commercialized sex and offenses that breed human trafficking in our communities.”
On January 31, 2022, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland released the Justice Department’s new National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking pursuant to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, which aims to enhance the department’s capacity to prevent human trafficking; to prosecute human trafficking cases; and to support and protect human trafficking victims and survivors.
Among other things, the Justice Department’s multi-year strategy to combat all forms of human trafficking will:
- Strengthen engagement, coordination and joint efforts to combat human trafficking in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and by federal law enforcement agents nationwide.
- Establish federally-funded, locally-led anti-human trafficking task forces that support sustained state law enforcement leadership and comprehensive victim assistance.
- Step up departmental efforts to end forced labor by increasing attention, resources and coordination in labor trafficking investigations and prosecutions.
- Develop and implement new victim screening protocols to identify potential human trafficking victims during law enforcement operations and encourage victims to share important information.
- Increase capacity to provide victim-centered assistance to trafficking survivors, including by supporting efforts to deliver financial restoration to victims.
- Expand dissemination of federal human trafficking training, guidance and expertise.
- Advance innovative demand-reduction strategies.
To learn more about the Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking, please visit www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-announces-justice-department-strategy-combat-human.
To learn more about human trafficking indicators visit www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/indicators-human-trafficking. If you believe that you or someone you know may be a victim of human trafficking, please contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, or Text 233733.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Warren Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Barbara Lanning.