Human Sex Trafficking Luring In Children

UPDATE: Memphis - Sept 4, 2013 This is an update from case Dated Sept. 1, 2012.

Federal prosecutors say a 20-year-old Memphis woman has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for child sex trafficking.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Memphis says Victoria Wallace was sentenced Friday by Senior U.S. District Judge Jon McCalla.

Testimony at Wallace’s sentencing hearing showed that Wallace was a high-ranking member of the Piru Street gang, using f orce and threats of f orce to control her victims

Ajuvenile testified that Wallace drove her and three other minors to New Orleans for the purpose of having them prostitute. Wallace also put minors to work in prostitution in Memphis.

The juvenile testified that Wallace kept the money her victims made and threatened them if they refused to work.

Wallace pleaded guilty in January to a child sex trafficking conspiracy charge.

Memphis, TN Sept 1, 2012

A f ederal judge denied bond f or child sex traf f icking suspect, Victoria Wallace.

The 19-year-old is charged with recruiting three 15-year-old girls into prostitution and getting money from sex acts.

They say she lured them by promising to buy school supplies and threatened them if they didn’t take part.

“Children are the most easily manipulated,” says Ryan Dalton, who heads up Operation Broken Silence, a local group that provides support to children involved in sex trafficking.

“They have often endured systematic rape for months, sometimes years at the hands of their traffickers. So when they exit that life, lingering psychological and emotional damage can be severe,” says Dalton.

West Tennessee has one of the highest human trafficking prosecution rates in the country.

Young girls are advertised on the internet and even on street corners.

U.S.Attorney Ed Stanton says its modern day slavery.

Since the children are of ten taken f rom town to town f or prostitution, it becomes f ederal interstate traf f icking. His office is prosecuting to the fullest.

“In the f ederal system there is no parole. So a number of these def endants, pimps if you will, are now f acing mandatory minimums. Including in this case, 15 years to life of federal time,” says Stanton.

Just this week, Laron Matlock was indicted by the f eds f or child sex/human traf f icking af ter allegedly recruiting

and transporting three people including a 16-year-old.
There is no penalty for the child victims, the goal is to save them.

“The goal is no kid being involved in re-trafficking. That’s the fear. Once a kid is rescued, we don’t want them disappearing or vanishing back into the life,” says Dalton.