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Press Release
Press Release
Press Release
Memphis Man Charged with Committing Sex Trafficking Offenses Against Two Minors and Two Adults
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
NEW ORLEANS, LA – Today, a federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment charging MACEO ROBERTS, age 24, from Memphis, Tennessee, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
In Count One of the indictment, ROBERTS was charged with conspiring with Jeremy Talbert and Dominique Peeples to traffic an adult victim and a 14-year-old victim for commercial sex purposes between at least August 2020 and January 2021, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1594(c).
In Counts Two and Five, ROBERTS was charged with trafficking two different adult victims for commercial sex purposes by means of force, fraud, or coercion, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591. Count Three of the indictment charged ROBERTS with Coercion and Enticement of an Individual to Travel to Engage in Prostitution from the Eastern District of Louisiana to Texas, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2422(a). Count Four charged ROBERTS with transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity from the Eastern District of Louisiana to Texas, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2423(a).
If convicted, ROBERTS faces up to life imprisonment as to Count One. Counts Two and Five carry a mandatory minimum of fifteen years up to a maximum of life in prison. As to Count Three, ROBERTS faces up to twenty years in prison. Count Four carries a mandatory minimum of ten years up to a maximum of life in prison.
As to each count, the defendant also faces supervised release for a term of five years up to life, a fine of up to $250,000, a requirement that the defendant participate in the sex offender registration and notification program, and a mandatory $100.00 special assessment fee.
U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Memphis Police Department in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Maria Carboni of the Financial Crimes Unit and Jordan Ginsberg, Supervisor of the Public Corruption Unit, are in charge of the prosecution.
Contact
Shane M. Jones
Public Affairs Officer
United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
United States Department of Justice
Updated April 13, 2023
Topic
Project Safe Childhood