Louisiana Man Faces up to Life in Prison After Pleading Guilty to Conspiring to Compel Labor by Minors with Intent to Engage in Sexual Activity

Louisiana  - On November 4, 2022, Assistant Attorney General Clarke and United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Darnell Fulton, 38, of Pineville, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to conspiring to compel labor by three minors and to transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

According to the plea deal, the defendant used violence, sexual abuse, food withholding, degradation, and intimidation between June 2016 and May 2019 to induce many children to work for his brownie baking business and provide him with business revenues. To sell brownies, the defendant ordered the victims to travel to as many as 20-30 venues per day, including plazas, car dealerships, law firms, restaurants, and parking lots. The victims worked late into the night, either selling or baking the brownies, and sold them instead of attending school during the day. In fact, the victims frequently worked seven days a week with limited breaks and were required to fulfill a daily sales quota. The defendant abused the victims on a frequent basis, especially if they did not fulfill his sales objectives. For example, the defendant frequently compelled the victims to get on their hands and knees on rice and stay in a pushup or plank posture for hours at a time, and he frequently lashed them with a belt if they failed to maintain appropriate form. He also coerced minor victims to engage in sexual actions with him and others, as well as transported them across state borders to engage in illicit sexual behavior.

“This case is proof that human trafficking doesn’t just happen in other countries,” said U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown for the Western District of Louisiana. “But in fact, human trafficking can be happening right in our own neighborhoods and communities without us even realizing it. Each of us must be vigilant and aware of our surroundings and if we see a situation that seems suspicious, take the time to report it to the police. Unfortunately, the victims in this case are the ones who have suffered life-long trauma because of this defendant’s horrendous acts. We will continue fighting for victims such as these to ensure that those who choose to inflict this type of harm on others are brought to justice.”

“Human trafficking is a heinous crime that targets some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, cruelly exploiting the victims for their labor and services,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This conviction makes clear that the Department of Justice will prosecute those who use violence, psychological abuse, and emotional manipulation to compel the labor and services of their victims. We encourage survivors of forced labor, including children, to report forced labor complaints to authorities.”

Fulton's sentence hearing is set for April 11, 2023. Fulton faces a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine for transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and a maximum sentence of twenty years and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to commit forced labor. As part of his plea agreement, the defendant consented to a 35-year prison sentence and to pay over $700,000 in reparations to the victims.

This case was investigated by the FBI's New Orleans Field Office in Alexandria, with cooperation from the Alexandria Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker for the Western District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Maryam Zhuravitsky of the Justice Department's Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

Anyone with information regarding human trafficking should call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org for additional information about human trafficking. www.justice.gov/humantrafficking contains information on the Department of Justice's efforts to prevent human trafficking.