Two people accused of transporting a woman from Atlanta to Oxford for commercial sex purposes have been convicted by a federal jury.
U.S. Attorney William C. Lamar and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze said a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi convicted Mario D. Collins of Memphis and Paulette M. Clayton of Atlanta of trafficking the victim from Georgia to Tennessee and ultimately to Oxford to engage in prostitution.
Collins and Clayton will be sentenced at a later date and face up to 10 years in prison.
The Oxford Police Department and the FBI conducted the investigation that led to the arrests. According to evidence presented in the trial, OPD officers responded to an Oxford motel on April 27, 2017, after receiving a 911 call indicating that the victim was being held against her will.
Collins and Clayton were arrested in the hotel parking lot, and the victim was recovered from inside the hotel.
OPD Officers Joshua Shipp and Brandon Jenkins were among the officers who initially responded to the 911 call and assisted throughout the investigation and trial of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clay Dabbs and Sam Stringfellow represented the federal government in the case, and FBI Special Agent Walter Henry and OPD Detective Chad Carwile spearheaded the investigation.
“Human trafficking is not a victimless crime,” Lamar noted after the conviction. “Women, many of whom are very young, are often coerced into prostitution by predators, taken advantage of, and are frequently victims of violence. Along with federal, state and local law enforcement, we will continue to address this problem in our district and prosecute those responsible. I congratulate and thank Special Agent Walter Henry of the FBI, Investigator Chad Carwile of the Oxford Police Department, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clay Dabbs and Sam Stringfellow for jobs well done.”
“Forcing someone into prostitution is reprehensible and has no place in our society,” Freeze said. “Human trafficking is believed to be the third-largest criminal activity in the world and must be addressed at the interagency level. Partnerships between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are key in these types of cases, and we appreciate everyone involved in bringing justice to those being trafficked.”
Special to HottyToddy.com.
