WASHINGTON, March 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Corey Davis, also known
as "Magnificent," pleaded guilty today in federal court in Bridgeport,
Conn., to a federal civil rights charge for organizing and leading a
sex-trafficking ring. A co-conspirator previously pleaded guilty to a
related charge of conspiring to violate the Mann Act, which prohibits the
interstate transport of individuals for prostitution. Davis is scheduled to
be sentenced on June 2, 2008. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Davis
faces up to 296 months imprisonment.
During his guilty plea hearing, Davis admitted that he recruited a girl
under the age of 18 years to engage in prostitution, that he was the
organizer of a sex-trafficking venture, and that he used force, fraud and
coercion to compel the victim to commit commercial sex acts from which he
obtained the proceeds. As part of his plea agreement, Davis agreed to
forfeit cash and assets, including a home that was used in the ring's
operations, and to pay $50,000 in restitution to his victims. Davis
previously had been convicted in Brooklyn, N.Y., for unlawfully selling
firearms.
"Through his guilty plea, the defendant admitted responsibility for
exploiting a young girl," said Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant
Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "The
Justice Department will continue the vigorous enforcement of all federal
criminal laws that protect vulnerable girls and others who are forced into
prostitution or other forms of exploitation."
The indictment charging Davis alleges that he was the organizer and
leader of a venture that forced women and girls to work as exotic dancers
and to prostitute themselves. During its existence, this sex-trafficking
ring involved at least 20 women and girls, some of whom were forced to work
for Davis for months at a time. A number of the victims were minors,
including one victim who was only 12 years old.
According to the indictment, Davis lured victims to his operation with
promises of modeling contracts and a glamorous lifestyle. Davis then forced
the girls to work a grueling schedule each day that entailed dancing and
performing sex acts at strip clubs in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.
The victims earned up to $5,000 a night in these activities, which Davis
confiscated and kept for himself.
The indictment also alleged that Davis beat many of the victims to
force them to work for him and for violations of stringent rules he imposed
to isolate and control them. In one attack, Davis slashed the head,
shoulder, and hand of a girl with a box cutter to punish her for keeping
some of the money she had earned. On another occasion, Davis stuck a pistol
into the mouth of a victim and threatened to kill her.
This case was investigated by a law enforcement team that was
spearheaded by FBI Special Agent Sean O'Malley. Special Agent O'Malley was
assisted by IRS Special Agent Colin Burns; the Bridgeport, Conn.,
Stratford, Conn., Colonie, N.Y., Miami Beach, Fla., and Milford, Mass.,
Police Departments; and the Connecticut State Police.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Krishna R.
Patel and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Michael J. Frank. They were
assisted by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Criminal Chief Peter S. Jongbloed,
and Civil Rights Division Special Litigation Counsel Andrew J. Kline.
Human trafficking prosecutions such as this one are a top priority of
the Department of Justice. In the last seven fiscal years, the Civil Rights
Division and U.S. Attorneys' Offices nationwide have increased by nearly
seven-fold the number of human trafficking cases filed in court as compared
to the previous seven fiscal years. In FY 2007, the Department obtained a
record number of convictions in human trafficking prosecutions.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice
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http://www.USDOJ.gov
CONTACT:
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public
Affairs, +1-202-514-2007, +1-202-514-1888 (TDD)
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