Press Release
Tennessee Resident Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking Of A Minor
For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs
A Memphis, Tennessee, man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for the sex trafficking of a 16-year-old girl, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III of the Western District of Tennessee and Special Agent in Charge Todd McCall of the FBI’s Memphis Division.
Laron Matlock, 33, of Memphis, admitted during his plea hearing that, with the assistance of a co-defendant, he facilitated the travel of a 16-year-old girl from Chicago to Memphis in July 2012 for the purpose of prostitution. Matlock then transported the minor from Memphis to Nashville, Tennessee, where she engaged in prostitution. Matlock admitted that he facilitated the online advertisement of the minor on www.backpage.com by paying the cost associated with the posting. Matlock was arrested on Aug. 1, 2012, after he returned to Memphis with the victim and attempted to take her to a customer’s house for the purpose of prostitution.
U.S. District Judge Jon Phipps McCalla of the Western District of Tennessee imposed the sentence.
This case was investigated by the Civil Rights Human Trafficking Taskforce, the FBI’s Memphis Division and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Coleman of the Western District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney Mi Yung Park of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
Updated December 14, 2015
Topic
Human Trafficking
Component