Three Plead Guilty to Sex Trafficking of Children

San Diego, CA - United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that today the Honorable Larry A. Burns, U.S. District Court Judge, accepted the guilty pleas of Jordan Arnold, Christopher Black, and Jessica King to one count of Conspiracy to Engage in Sex Trafficking of Children, and one count of Coercion and Enticement of a Juvenile into Prostitution. The latter count carries a minimum mandatory sentence of ten years in custody.

In their pleas, the defendants admitted to being members of a 2007 conspiracy by recruiting, persuading, and employing juveniles to perform acts of prostitution. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Tenorio, who is prosecuting the case with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the defendants admitted that, in order to reap a financial benefit, they enticed juveniles to work as prostitutes between August 15, 2007 and October 11, 2007.

Black and King admitted that they took photographs of the juveniles wearing lingerie and in provocative poses, which were then placed in ads posted on the “Craigslist” website to solicit dates. The dates, however, were prostitution “johns” who responded to the advertisements and made arrangements to have sex with the juveniles in exchange for payment. Arnold and Black admitted that they drove the juveniles to and from hotels in the Mission Valley and Sports Arena areas of San Diego, where the juveniles performed the pre-arranged acts of prostitution. Arnold and Black also admitted that they collected for themselves all of the proceeds the juveniles received in exchange for acts of prostitution.

Sentencing for Jordan Arnold and Jessica King is scheduled for March 30, 2009, and for Christopher Black on April 13, 2009, both are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. before Judge Larry A. Burns.

DEFENDANTS Case Number: 08CR0274-LAB
Jordan Arnold Age: 21 San Diego, California
Christopher Black Age: 21 San Diego, California
Jessica King Age: 20 San Diego, California

SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Count 1 Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371, and 1591 (conspiracy to engage in sex traffickingof children)
Maximum penalty: 5 years in custody; 3 years of supervised release; $250,000 fineCount 4 Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2422(b) and 2 (coercion and enticement of juvenilesinto prostitution)
Minimum penalty: 10 years in custody (where victim has not obtained18 years of age)
Maximum penalty: life in custody; 5 years of supervised release; $250,000 fine

AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
San Diego Police Departmen

 

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