Man Pleads Guilty To Forcing Girls Into Prostitution
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A 25-year-old man who pleaded guilty Friday to transporting a minor from Wisconsin to Illinois and forcing her to work as a prostitute faces up to life in prison for sex trafficking.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago, Carl Brandon Smith of Chicago admitted that he engaged in forced sex-trafficking of the victim, as well as a second minor and two other young women. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 5 by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve, and faces 10 years to life in prison.
Between 2010 and early 2012, Smith forced the four, two minors and two adults, to engage in commercial sex acts, using physical violence and death threats to keep them from running away, according to federal prosecutors.
Smith — also known as "Moo" — has remained in federal custody since being arrested in April 2012 and charged with two counts of sex-trafficking of a minor by force, two counts of sex-trafficking by force, and one count of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in prostitution, a release fro prosecutors said.
According to his plea agreement, Smith met the girl he later brought to Illinois in December 2010 and began contacting her via phone, text, and social media. He asked her to move to Chicago with the intention that she'd be his "girlfriend" and engage in prostitution, the release said. In February 2011, Smith drove from Chicago to her home in Wisconsin, then brought her back to his apartment in Chicago, admitting he knew she was under 18 at the time.
Once in Chicago, Smith "dated" the girl for about a week before she began working as a prostitute for him, according to prosecutors. Between February and July 2011, he had her engage in prostitution while he acted as her pimp, advertising her for commercial sex on Internet sites, and instructing her to have sex with customers in his apartment and area motels. The girl had sex with numerous men each week and gave a portion of the money she earned to Smith, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
As part of his guilty plea, Smith also admitted to pimping another minor girl, forcing her to engage in prostitution during 2010. When she indicated she no longer wanted to work as a prostitute, Smith beat her, according to the release. In one instance, he beat her so severely that one eye swelled shut.
Smith also used and threatened violence against two adult woman while acting as their pimp, forcing them to engage in prostitution in 2011 and early 2012.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
