Luzerne County Man Sentenced To 9 Years In Prison For Sex Trafficking Of A Minor

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Wilkes-Barre man was sentenced today to serve nine years in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani for sex trafficking of a minor.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the defendant, Travis Humphrey, age 27, previously pleaded guilty to recruiting and transporting a then 16-year-old female to engage in commercial sex acts in motels in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In furtherance of the crime, Humphrey and others rented motel rooms and posted “escort” advertisements and photographs on a website during 2013.

Humphrey was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2014, as a result of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office.

Judge Mariani also ordered Humphrey to serve five years on supervised release following his prison sentence, and to pay a $100 special assessment. Humphrey will also have to register as a sex offender and undergo sex offender treatment.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.

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."