Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Court in Louisiana to Trafficking 17-Year-Old Female to Perform Commercial Sex Acts
Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Court in Louisiana to Trafficking 17-Year-Old Female to Perform Commercial Sex Acts
New Orleans, Louisiana – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Dominique Peeples, age 25, from Memphis, Tennessee, pleaded guilty on September 28, 2022, to Sex Trafficking of a Minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1591(a)(1), 1591(b)(2), 1594(a), and 2.
According to court filings, Peeples transported a seventeen-year-old female (“Minor Victim”) from Memphis to New Orleans with the intent of engaging her in commercial sex activities beginning at an unknown time and lasting until mid-January 2021. Peeples was aware of Minor Victim’s age at the time. People advertised the Minor Victim on websites that are routinely used to promote sexual services for money.
Peeples faces a required minimum penalty of ten years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison after pleading guilty. The defendant also faces supervised release for a period of five years 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 charge. The Honorable Sarah S. Vance scheduled sentencing for January 18, 2023 at 10:30 a.m.
This case was filed as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide campaign initiated by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to tackle 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 www.usdoj.gov/psc. For additional information on internet safety education, go to www.usdoj.gov/psc and select the “resources” option.
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.
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