SCRANTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle), published as received.
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on March 15, 2019, Fredrick Brown, age 37, of Monroe County, Pennsylvania, was convicted on sex and drug trafficking charges after a four-day jury trial held before United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the jury returned a verdict of guilty after approximately one and one half hours of deliberations. The evidence showed that between 2011 and 2014, Brown trafficked multiple women as prostitutes through force, fraud, threats of force, and coercion. Brown was also convicted of sex trafficking a 17-year-old minor. Brown worked mainly out of a hotel in Bartonsville, Pennsylvania, along with other Monroe County hotels, and transported his victims across state lines for the purposes of prostitution. Brown frequently used violent force and intimidation to compel his victims to engage in commercial sex acts.
Brown was also convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute over 280 grams of cocaine base, or “crack,” and possession with intent to distribute crack. The government presented additional evidence to show that Brown also gave his trafficking victims controlled substances such as Adderall, MDMA or “Molly,” and ecstasy to keep them awake and working to increase his profits.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jenny P. Roberts and Sean A. Camoni are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum combined penalty under federal law for these offenses are a life term of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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