 |
|
|
U.S. Department of Justice PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
Federal grand jury indicts former volunteer high school football coach on child sex trafficking and child sexual abuse charges
Washington, D.C. - A former volunteer football coach at Bowie High School, Aaron J. Burroughs, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on child sex trafficking charges and child sexual abuse charges, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Joseph Persichini, Jr., and Metropolitan Police Chief Charles Ramsey announced today.
Burroughs, 35, who also formerly worked as a Washington Area Metro Transit Authority bus driver, was indicted late yesterday afternoon by a federal grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia on six counts of child sex trafficking and child sexual abuse, in violation of both federal and District of Columbia law. If convicted of all counts, Burroughs could face a maximum sentence of life in prison. Burroughs also faces criminal forfeiture of two cars he used while committing these crimes. He is expected to be arraigned on the charges next week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
According to the indictment, between August 1, 2005, and continuing through July 31, 2006, Burroughs repeatedly brought the juvenile victim from Maryland to the District of Columbia for purposes of prostitution. The victim was 14 years old when Burroughs first brought her into the District for this purpose, and she later turned 15.
The indictment further alleges that Burroughs himself engaged in sexual acts with the victim on numerous occasions between August 1, 2005, and July 31, 2006. Burroughs is alleged to have repeatedly taken the victim to the “track,” a high prostitution area in the District of Columbia, where he prostituted her to other adult males. On one occasion, Burroughs allegedly brought the victim to the District to engage in a sexual act with his friend, a Capitol Police officer.
The investigation of Burroughs was initiated after Montgomery County Police Detective Thomas Stack alerted fellow members of the D.C. Human Trafficking task force that the victim had been found engaging in a sexual act with a male client in Montgomery County. The victim subsequently disclosed that Burroughs was her pimp. The investigation was a cooperative task force effort that involved members of multiple law enforcement agencies.
In announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Taylor, Chief Ramsey and Acting Assistant Director in Charge Persichini commended Detective Sgt. Morani Hines of the Metropolitan Police Department, Special Agent William McDermott of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detective Mark Gilkey of the Metropolitan Police Department, Supervisory Special Agent M.K. Itnyre, Special Agents Marc Dinardo and Penny Behrens, and Intelligence Analyst Heather Gordon of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detective Tim Palchak, Detective Jonathan Andrews, Detective Barbara Johnson-Rauf, Detective James Wilson, Sgt. Debra Hayes, and Officer Dawn Leary of the Metropolitan Police Department, Detective Thomas Stack of the Montgomery County Police Department and Detective Richard Poole of the Takoma Park Police Department. Lastly, they thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary McCord and Kim Herd who are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.
| Washington Field Office Home Page |