Wisconsin Man Sentenced For Sex Trafficking

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, man convicted of Transportation for Prostitution was sentenced on November 3, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.

Thomas Alexander Roberts, age 34, was sentenced to 63 months in custody, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  Roberts was also ordered to forfeit four cell phones, a laptop computer, and $1,100 in cash seized when he was arrested.
         
Roberts was indicted for Transportation for Prostitution, Inducing Travel to Engage in Prostitution, and Sex Trafficking by a federal grand jury on December 3, 2013.  He pled guilty on August 14, 2014, to the charge of Transportation for Prostitution.
         
In November of 2013, Roberts transported an adult female from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Sioux Falls, with the intention of having the female engage in prostitution.  After arriving in Sioux Falls, Roberts rented a hotel room and placed advertisements containing sexually suggestive photographs of females on Backpage.com.  As a result of those advertisements, the female engaged in commercial sex acts in the Sioux Falls area.  Roberts physically abused the woman, and had a criminal history of dealing drugs and abusing a child.
         
This case was investigated by the Sioux Falls Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.
         
Roberts was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.