 |
|
|
U.S. Department of Justice PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
|
|
Washington, D.C. - A Temple Hills, Maryland man, Sunni Ham, has been sentenced to 106 months of incarceration for sex trafficking of children, pandering, and assault charges, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, Assistant Director in Charge Joseph Persichini, Jr., Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington Field Office, and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced today.
Ham, 28, was sentenced today by the Honorable John D. Bates in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In imposing the sentence, Judge Bates called the defendant’s conduct “reprehensible” and stated that the facts of the case “show an utter lack of respect for the minors [who were] preyed upon.” Judge Bates also ordered the defendant to register as a sex offender for 25 years. Ham pled guilty to the charges in April 2007.
The government’s investigation revealed that in May of 2006, the defendant recruited two girls (a 17-year-old and a 16-year-old) from Baltimore, Maryland, and brought them to the District of Columbia to engage in prostitution. The defendant knew that the girls were under the age of 18. The defendant also prostituted an adult female at the same time he was prostituting the minor girls.
The defendant purchased skimpy outfits for the minors to wear when he put them out on the streets to prostitute, and instructed them on how to behave when out on the streets of the District of Columbia. He also brought the two minors to meet his mother, a former prostitute, who provided the minors with additional skimpy attire.
The two minors and the adult stayed at the defendant’s house in Maryland during the day. In the evenings, the defendant picked them up and drove them to the “track” in D.C. -- an area known for prostitution. The defendant instructed the two minors and the adult what to charge for specific sex acts. The two minors and the adult gave the defendant all the money they earned from these sex acts.
On May 23, 2006, the defendant assaulted the adult for not making her quota of $400 for that morning. The victim had visible injuries to her face and mouth as a result of this assault.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor, Assistant Director in Charge Persichini, and Chief Lanier commended the outstanding investigative work of Metropolitan Police Detective Sergeant Morani Hines, FBI Agents Marc Dinardo and William McDermott, and the FBI’s Crimes Against Children Squad. They also recognized Victim Advocate Iris Vega, who assisted the victims, and Legal Assistant Latoya Wade, who provided administrative support. Lastly, they praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kim Herd and Michael Truscott, who handled the initial investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Catherine Connelly and Precious Murchison, who prosecuted the case.
# # # #