Boston, Baltimore Men Plead Guilty To Charges Of Sex Trafficking A Minor

BOSTON – Two men, one from Boston and one from Baltimore, pleaded guilty today in connection with the sex trafficking of a 15-year-old girl.

Mark Pinnock, 23, of Boston, pleaded guilty to recruiting and transporting a minor to engage in prostitution. Martin Pinkney, 23, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sex traffic a minor victim. In March 2014, Pinnock, Pinkney, and their co-defendant, Justin Richardson, were originally charged. Richardson pleaded guilty to a sex trafficking charge yesterday. All three men are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton in November 2014.

In late December 2013, officers responded to a 9-1-1 call from a Cambridge hotel, where they found the 15-year old victim and Pinnock. The minor victim stated that Richardson and Pinkey had arranged for her to travel by bus from Baltimore to Boston. Pictures were taken of the minor victim in both Baltimore and Boston and used to post ads soliciting prostitution on the websites Backpage and Craigslist. While in Boston, the minor victim completed commercial sex acts at the direction of Pinnock at two area hotels.

Pinnock’s conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison, a minimum term of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and restitution. Pinkney’s conviction carries a maximum sentence of a lifetime in prison, up to five years supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and restitution. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert C. Haas, made the announcement today. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also wishes to thank Middlesex County District Attorney Marian C. Ryan’s office for its participation in the investigation that led to today’s plea. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Kosto and Carlos López of Ortiz’s Civil Rights Enforcement Team.

The aggressive enforcement of federal civil rights laws is a top priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. Since U.S. Attorney Ortiz created the Civil Rights Enforcement Team in 2010, the Office has substantially increased its focus on civil and criminal civil rights enforcement. In the last four years, the office has charged multiple defendants with sex trafficking and other criminal civil rights violations.