Memphis Man Found Guilty of Child Sex Trafficking and Firearms Offenses

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WASHINGTON- A federal jury in Memphis, Tenn., has convicted Maurice Mabon of child sex trafficking and a firearms offense, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III for the Western District of Tennessee and Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford of the FBI’s Memphis Field Office.

Mabon, 23, of Memphis, was found guilty yesterday of child sex trafficking, attempted child sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking for his role in advertising a 15-year-old girl for prostitution on the website backpage.com on April 16, 2011. He also was found guilty of being a felon in possession of ammunition.

The evidence at trial showed, among other things, that Mabon posted the advertisement to backpage.com after taking numerous photographs of the 15-year-old victim in lingerie. Mabon and his co-defendants then drove the 15-year-old to an address provided by an individual responding to the advertisement. A suspicious neighbor contacted the Shelby County, Tenn., Sheriff’s Department and deputies intervened.

A later search of Mabon’s home led to the discovery of 12 live rounds of 9 mm Luger ammunition, 17 live rounds of 7.65 ammunition, 25 live rounds of .380 ammunition, 20 live rounds of .45 auto ammunition and eight spent rounds of 7.62 ammunition. As a previously-convicted felon, Mabon was prohibited from possessing any ammunition by federal law.

“Mr. Mabon used the Internet to facilitate sex trafficking of a minor,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “The jury’s guilty verdict ensures that he will now be imprisoned for his crimes. We will continue to prioritize the fight against predators who exploit children for profit or any other reason.”

“Child sex traffickers like Maurice Mabon prey upon young victims because they are vulnerable and often defenseless,” said U.S. Attorney Stanton. “The jury’s guilty verdict underscores this office’s relentless commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to prosecute and bring to justice those who exploit children for profit.”

“The cruel exploitation of children will not be tolerated, and the FBI, along with our law enforcement partners, is committed to targeting those who prey on innocent juveniles,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Ford. “This conviction is a message to those who would seek to take part in human trafficking or commercial sex trafficking, that you will be investigated brought to justice and held accountable.

Mabon faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. He will be sentenced on July 13, 2012, by Chief U.S. District Judge Jon Phipps McCalla. Mabon’s co-defendants, Arieke Lester and Chauntta Lewis, pleaded guilty to related charges last week. Lester will be sentenced on Aug. 10, 2012, and faces up to life in prison. Lewis will be sentenced on June 6, 2012, and faces up to 20 years in prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the FBI, working with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Skrmetti of the Western District of Tennessee and CEOS Trial Attorney Keith Becker.

UPDATE: April 8, 2012
MEMPHIS CASE SHOWS RISE IN SEX TRAFFICKING:

Federal agents abruptly halted the career of a young Memphis man determined to become a successful entrepreneur.

In a small, black notebook, Maurice Mabon, 23, scrawled his short-term and long-term goals:

"One year goal -- start an escorting service.

"Five year goal -- have a legitimate brothel."

Agents caught him trying to pimp a 15-year-old girl on the Internet. It was the wrong crime in the wrong jurisdiction -- one where prosecutors have earned national recognition for their aggressive crackdown on sex trafficking of minors.

Asst. U.S. Atty. Jonathan Skrmetti secured a conviction Thursday against Mabon on child sex trafficking charges that carry a possible punishment of 10 years to life in prison. U.S. Dist. Chief Judge Jon McCalla is expected to sentence Mabon on July 13.

Mabon's friend, Chauntta Lewis, 26, who knew the victim's mother for years, claimed she was taking the teen to a weekend barbecue in Memphis in April 2011.

Instead, they ended up spending the weekend with two alleged gang members -- Lewis' boyfriend, Arieke Lester, 31, and Mabon, his friend.

In court, the victim wore a Hello Kitty shirt and spoke softly, often hanging her head or covering her face with her hand, while telling jurors about her Memphis ordeal.

She said the men didn't threaten her, but she didn't feel safe enough to resist. They were armed and had just attended a gang meeting.

"I didn't know what would happen to me if I had an attitude," she said.

Inside a Hickory Hill home, where Mabon lived with a relative, the adults gave the high school freshman beer and marijuana.

"They asked me what type of under clothes did I have on. I said: 'Mickey Mouse,' and they said that was kind of childish," the teen said.

She testified that they took her to Walmart and bought her lingerie.

"I was nervous and kind of scared," she said. "It's not something a 15-year-old should be doing or be around."

In Mabon's bedroom, he took more than 60 sexually suggestive photos of her and Lewis, the woman who brought her to Memphis.

Within 15 minutes of taking the photos, Mabon had uploaded them on the "Memphis escorts" section of Backpage.com -- an online classified advertising service -- offering a $140 special for time with the duo.

Within hours, a customer had already called. The teen said she was told she and the woman would have sex with the man, but when the group arrived at his home, no one answered the door.

A neighbor noticed the group lingering and called police. Shelby County Sheriff's deputies stopped the car, eventually returning the teen to her mother and alerting the FBI.

Lester and Lewis pleaded guilty to child sex trafficking charges and are scheduled to be sentenced this summer.

Several similar cases are pending in federal court.

"It is a high priority for the FBI," said Joel Siskovic, spokesman for the local FBI office. The Bureau's Memphis division recently ranked top in the nation for open sex trafficking cases, he said.

And when agents take their cases to federal prosecutors, "they aggressively prosecute," Siskovic said.

Memphis is now considered a national model for maximizing prison stints for sex traffickers, said U.S. Atty. Ed Stanton.

Mabon is an alleged member of the Vice Lords, one of Memphis' most prevalent gangs. Nationally, gangs -- which have relied on drug sales, car thefts and home burglaries for funds -- are increasingly turning to sex trafficking as a source of revenue.

Mabon found his customers on Backpage -- another national crime trend. Here, traffickers can reach customers who are willing to pay up to $500 or more, compared to street customers who typically pay $30 to $40, federal prosecutors have said.

Backpage has been under attack by child advocates and government officials over the advertising of such services.

A group of U.S. senators -- including Tennessee Republican Bob Corker -- sent Backpage's parent company, Village Voice Media, a letter on March 23 that reads in part: "We are greatly alarmed by the increasing news reports of pimps and traffickers using Backpage.com to advertise sexual services by minors."

The senators cited recent cases in Atlanta, Albuquerque, the Chicago area and Minnesota.

Nationwide, pimps have been caught using Backpage to sell minors for sex in more than 50 cases in 22 states, according to findings by a national organization of state attorneys general.

The National Association of Attorneys General also sent the Village Voice a stern letter Aug. 31. The letter -- signed by state attorneys general from Tennessee and 45 other states -- urged the website to remove its adult services section, which NAAG estimates generates more than $22 million annually.

Craigslist, responding to similar pressure, removed its "adult services" section in