Convicted Sex-Trafficker Sentenced To Life In Prison
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A former northwest suburban massage parlor owner who forced four foreign women into prostitution — and tattooed them with his moniker — was sentenced to life in prison Monday.
Alex "Daddy" Campbell was found guilty in January of three federal counts each of forced labor, harboring illegal immigrants for financial gain, and confiscating passports and other immigration documents to force victims to work. He was also convicted of sex-trafficking by force and extortion.
Sentencing Campbell to life behind bars, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman said the case was as bad as any he had dealt with in 18 years on the bench, noting the pimp had taken advantage of "very vulnerable young people," the Sun-Times is reporting.
Telling Campbell that life sentences were meant only for the "worst of the worst," Gettleman nonetheless said Campbell "deserves" to spend the rest of his life in prison.
"The worst thing you did to these girls, very frankly, is branding them the way you did," the judge said of the tattoos Campbell forced his prostitutes to get. "None of them will ever be able to look in the mirror and forget what you did to them."
Gettleman was speaking after Campbell gave a rambling two-hour speech, insisting on his innocence and saying he'd only been convicted because he is black and the women he forced to work for him were white.
A prostitute who he had forced to work laughed at his claims as she watched from the public gallery at the rear of the courtroom. She had earlier testified how he beat and humiliated her, describing him as "evil, pure evil."
Campbell's attorney urged Gettleman to sentence Campbell to the minimum possible sentence of 15 years, though prosecutors had asked the judge to follow sentencing guidelines and imprison Campbell for the rest of his life.
Campbell ran the Day and Night Spa on Northwest Highway in Mount Prospect, and used violence and threats to force three women from the Ukraine and one from Belarus to work for him without pay, federal prosecutors said.
All four victims testified at his trial.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
