Davenport, Iowa, Man Sentenced For Distributing Drugs to Prostitutes
Davenport, IA- Today, Jesse James Stewart, 58, of Davenport, IA, was sentenced to life imprisonment, announced United States Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker. United States District Judge John A. Jarvey also sentenced Stewart to pay a $100 special assessment to the crime victims fund. Stewart was convicted by a jury in March 2009 of possessing more than 50 grams of crack cocaine with intent to distribute.
Stewart, who falsely claimed to be a Minister of the Temple of Truth and Wisdom, a Doctor of Divinity, and a war veteran, obtained quantities of crack cocaine from sources in Chicago. Stewart frequently made the Chicago trips dressed in the guise of a Minister in case he was stopped by a law enforcement officer.
Stewart distributed much of the crack to prostitutes in the Davenport area. Stewart forced prostitutes into assisting him with drug trafficking and sexually exploited the women in exchange for drugs. Stewart also used physical violence to control the women.
In December 2007, Davenport police executed a search warrant at Stewart’s residence in Davenport, finding about 74 grams of crack cocaine, drug trafficking material, sexually explicit photos of various prostitutes, and other evidence.
Following his federal indictment, Stewart claimed to be mentally incompetent to stand trial but was exposed as a malingerer during a psychological examination by doctors of the United States Bureau of Prisons.
At trial, Stewart claimed that in the 1970s the United States Navy administered to Stewart and his fellow boot camp platoon members psychotropic drugs as part of an experiment, causing Stewart to suffer from flashbacks. Stewart admitted that he distributed small amounts of drugs to the prostitutes but only for the purpose of weaning them from their drug addictions. Stewart denied any other trafficking activity, claiming that he got the crack from the prostitutes themselves. Stewart further claimed that his activity was approved and condoned by law enforcement officials.
Several former prostitutes testified to the contrary, recounting how they were exploited by Stewart and that his drug trafficking was extensive and surreptitious.
Stewart’s sentence of life imprisonment was a mandatory one – there is no possibility of parole in the federal criminal justice system.
This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Iowa, and investigated by the Davenport Police Department and Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement.