Fridley Man Pleads Guilty To Transporting A Minor To Engage In Prostitution

MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court in St. Paul, a 27-year-old Fridley man pleaded guilty to transporting a minor to engage in prostitution. Napoleon Long, Jr., pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Long, who was charged via an Information, entered his plea before United States District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle.

In his plea agreement, Long admitted that in or about October 2011, he transported a 17-year-old girl from Minnesota to Colorado Springs, Colorado, with the intent that she engage in prostitution. Long also admitted knowing the girl was 17, and that she engaged in at least one sexual act while in Colorado and a pattern of sexual activity while working as a prostitute for him.

For his crime, Long faces a potential maximum penalty of life in prison. Judge Kyle will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled. This case is the result of an investigation by the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office and U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David P. Steinkamp and Manda M. Sertich.

In 2012, Yuri Fedotov, the head of the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crime reported to those attending a U.N. General Assembly meeting that an estimated 2.4 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking at any one time, with 80 percent of them being exploited as sex slaves. He also said approximately $32 billion is earned collectively every year by the criminals who operate human trafficking networks. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked within the U.S. alone each year.

For more information, visit http://www.ice.gov/human-trafficking/