A 41-year-old Ohio man was sentenced for a violation of the Mann Act, which is the engagement of interstate prostitution.
According to 41-year-old Leon Sims’ plea agreement, on December 14, 2020, law enforcement officers responded to an advertisement for prostitution services posted on a sex-advertisement website.
Law enforcement observed Sims transport a victim to a hotel room and proceed to wait for her in the car.
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Subsequent investigation revealed that, from at least October 2020 through January 2021, Sims arranged prostitution activities for the victim using online advertisements, managed those activities, communicated with prostitution customers and kept the profits from the prostitution appointments.
During the course of managing the victim’s prostitution activities, Sims transported the victim from Kentucky to both Ohio and California for the purpose of prostitution.
At sentencing, it was determined that Sims used fraud or coercion to get the victim to participate in prostitution including verbal threats, withholding basic necessities, and false promises.
Under federal law, Sims must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.
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The investigation was conducted by FBI, Kentucky Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigation, and Boone County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle Winslow and Erin Roth are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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