Press Release
CHILD SEX TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON
October 27, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Investigations, announced that defendant David Pierre, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, was sentenced in federal court in Fort Lauderdale on October 22, 2009 before U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas to 120 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release as a sex offender. Additionally, defendant Jenna Linden, 24, of Fort Lauderdale, FL was also sentenced in federal court on September 23, 2009 before U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas to 60 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release as a sex offender. Linden and Pierre had pled guilty to charges of sex trafficking of a minor on July 15, 2009 and August 13, 2009, respectively.
The ICE-led investigation began in November 2008, after a 14-year old victim of the escort service run by Pierre was rescued in Fort Lauderdale. Subsequently, another 16-year old victim of Pierre’s escort service was discovered. Pierre was operating a prostitution ring disguised as an escort service from his residence in Ft. Lauderdale. Pierre advertised his business on the internet. Linden assisted Pierre to transport the underage victims to customers throughout the south Florida area.
Anyone with information regarding suspected child predators or abuse is encouraged to call the ICE toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators. In addition, suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Mr. Sloman thanked ICE’s Office of Investigations in Fort Lauderdale for their work on this investigation and resulting prosecution. Mr. Sloman also thanked the Homestead Police Department, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, for their assistance on this matter. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sivashree Sundaram.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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