Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—July 22, 2014. U.S. District Court Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Jean Claude Roy, aka Dredd the Don, 31, of Germantown, Maryland, to serve 240 months in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, the Justice Department announced today. A jury convicted Roy on March 19, 2014, of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, three counts of interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution, and one count of witness and evidence tampering.
“The Civil Rights Division is committed to pursuing justice on behalf of vulnerable members of our society,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “This sentence sends a clear message that the United States will not tolerate modern-day slavery and will work tirelessly to restore the rights and dignity of its victims.”
During the trial, victims recounted their fear of Roy, explaining instances of physical and sexual abuse, threats, tattoo branding and Roy’s bragging of beating a murder charge years prior in Massachusetts. “If he could kill a man, who’s gonna care about a prostitute,” said one victim from the witness stand. Witnesses detailed the guns in Roy’s possession and how he prostituted women in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.
“Jean Claude Roy preyed on vulnerable young women,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein for the District of Maryland. “Law enforcement agencies will continue to work to identify and prosecute human traffickers.”
“This case serves as another chilling example of the callous disregard for human life demonstrated by traffickers,” said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) Baltimore Deputy Special Agent in Charge James P. Nagle. “Our special agents will continue pursuing these criminals to ensure they are behind bars where they can no longer exploit the innocent.”
Trial evidence also showed that from Jan. 1 through Jan. 10, 2013, while Roy was in jail on related state charges, he called a family member several times and had that person access online accounts and storage services belonging to Roy and his co-conspirator in order to erase evidence related to these charges.
The jury acquitted Roy of one count of sex trafficking and two counts of attempted sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, and for the related counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
This case was investigated by the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, which was 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 the task force website.
Report suspected instances of human trafficking to ICE HSI’s tip line at 866-DHS-2ICE (1-866-347-2423) or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.
This case was investigated by ICE HSI Baltimore and the Montgomery County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristi N. O’Malley and Trial Attorney William E. Nolan of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit prosecuted the case.
Source: justice.gov
