Source: United States Department of Justice News
Defendant Took All of the Victim’s Money, Physically Assaulted the Victim, and Threatened the Victim with a Firearm
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte today sentenced Sirron Little, age 32, of Washington, D.C., to 10 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for sex trafficking of a minor to engage in commercial sex acts. Little recruited the victim, a homeless 15-year-old girl, to work for him as a prostitute. Judge Messitte also ordered Little to pay restitution to the victim in the amount of $20,122.20. Upon his release from prison, Little will also be required to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, Little recruited the victim to work for him as a sex worker in April 2018, when she was 15 years old and homeless. The victim worked for Little, engaging in sex acts for money, until December 4, 2018. Little used his cell phone to communicate with the victim regarding the prostitution business, to post scantily clad photos of her on online dating services to solicit commercial sex clients and to advertise the victim as a prostitute, and to arrange “dates” with commercial sex clients, in Washington D.C. and in Maryland. Little initially had the victim meet clients for “car dates” or had someone drive the victim to a client’s residence. Eventually, Little moved the sex trafficking operation to motels in Prince George’s County, Maryland. In addition to meeting clients for car dates and at hotels, Little directed the victim to walk along a specific street in Maryland to solicit clients directly.
As detailed in the plea agreement, Little directed the victim where to meet the clients, what services the victim would provide, and the agreed-upon payment for the sex acts. The victim would typically see multiple clients per day, generating as much as $1,500 in a day. Little required the victim to give him all the proceeds she received and threatened to stop providing the victim with food, transportation, and shelter if she did not meet the monetary goals he set for her. Little physically assaulted the victim on multiple occasions, threatened her with a firearm on at least one occasion, and engaged in sex acts with the minor victim on multiple occasions.
On December 4, 2018, the victim called emergency services and reported that Little had threatened her with a firearm and had an open warrant and that she feared for her safety. When law enforcement responded to the hotel where the victim and Little were staying, the victim advised that she was having a fight with Little and that he was armed. Little was arrested and a loaded .40-caliber handgun was seized from the hotel room, along with a 20-round box of ammunition and two cellular phones.
The case was investigated by the FBI-led Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force (MCETF), created in 2010 to combat child prostitution, with members from10 state and federal law enforcement agencies. The Task Force coordinates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Maryland State Police Child Recovery Unit to identify missing children being advertised online for prostitution.
MCETF partners with the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders. Members include federal, state, and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and local community members. For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit http://www.mdhumantrafficking.org/.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Sarma and Jennifer Wine, who prosecuted the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/human-trafficking and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
# # #