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Texas Woman Sentenced in Federal Court in Louisiana in Connection with Sex Trafficking a 13-Year-Old Victim

A Texas woman has been sentenced in a federal court in Louisiana in connection with the sex trafficking of a 13-year-old victim.

Louisiana – On Wednesday, February 15, 2023, U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Dajanae Drake, age 29, from Missouri City, Texas, was sentenced by United States District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon to 24 months imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00 after previously pleading guilty as charged to a one-count bill of information charging her with obstruction, attempted obstruction, and interference with the enforcement of the federal criminal sex trafficking statute, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591(d).

According to court filings, Person 1 met Randi Lewis in early 2020 when she was approximately sixteen years old. Person 1 was recruited by Lewis to perform sexual actions for profit under his command, and she complied. Around June 2021, Lewis and Person 1 met the thirteen-year-old victim in the Houston, Texas region. Person 1 hired the victim to perform sex acts for commercial gain at Lewis’s instruction. Subsequently, Lewis arranged for himself, Person 1, and the underage victim to take a Greyhound bus to New Orleans, Louisiana in order for his co-conspirator and victim to engage in commercial sex acts. Person 1 and the underage victim did many commercial sex acts in the New Orleans area between June 22, 2021, and June 24, 2021. On June 24, 2021, in Terrytown, Louisiana law enforcement recovered the victim and arrested Person 1 and Lewis in a hotel. Person 1 and Lewis were subsequently charged with a crime and jailed.

Between June 25, 2021, and approximately November 28, 2021, Drake engaged in several telephone conversations with Person 1 and Lewis, including several in which he persuaded Person 1 to sign a false affidavit stating that Lewis had no role in the recruitment and trafficking of the young victim. Drake did so with the intent of hindering the enforcement of criminal law, including Section 1591 of Title 18 of the United States Code.

Federal criminal accusations are underway against both Person 1 and Lewis. Lewis has pled guilty and is due to be sentenced by United States District Judge Lance M. Africk on March 8, 2023.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide campaign started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to tackle the scourge of child sexual abuse and exploitation. The United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section lead Project Safe Childhood, which combines federal, state, and local resources to seek, capture, prosecute, and identify and rescue victims of child sexual exploitation. Please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc for additional information about Project Safe Childhood. Please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click the “Resources” link for more information regarding internet safety education.

In this case, U.S. Attorney Evans lauded the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution is led by Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Corruption Unit.

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