Memphis Man Charged in a Federal Court in Louisiana with Trafficking 17-Year-Old Female to Perform Commercial Sex Acts

Louisiana – Dominique Peeples, 25, of Memphis, Tennessee, was charged on June 10, 2022, in a one-count indictment by a federal grand jury in Louisiana for bringing a seventeen-year-old female from Memphis, Tennessee, to New Orleans, Louisiana, and elsewhere for the purpose of having her perform commercial sex acts beginning in or around August 2020 and ending in or around January 2021. For this conduct, the indictment charges Peeples with Sex Trafficking of a Minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1591(a)(1), 1591(b)(2), 1594(a), and 2.

If convicted, Peeples faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. In addition, the defendant faces supervised release for a minimum term of five years up to life, a fine of up to $250,000, participation in the sex offender registration and notification program, and a mandatory $100.00 special assessment fee.

U.S. Attorney Evans emphasized that an indictment is only a charge and that the defendant’s guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was filed as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood, led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, marshals federal, state, and local resources to find, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. To learn more about Project Safe Childhood, go to usdoj.gov/psc. For more information on internet safety education, go to usdoj.gov/psc and select the “resources” tab.

U.S. Attorney Evans commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Memphis Police Department for their work in investigating this case. The prosecution is led by Assistant United States Attorneys Maria Carboni and Jordan Ginsberg, Supervisor of the Public Corruption Unit.

An indictment or bill of information is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.