Related Content
Press Release
Press Release
ATLANTA - Isaiah Jernigan, Darren Williamson, Jr., a/k/a Chef Boy RD, Marie St. Vil, a/k/a Jasmine, and Brianne Marcelin, a/k/a Bri, have been sentenced for sex trafficking three minor girls in Atlanta during the 2013 Final Four NCAA Playoffs.
“As fans descended on Atlanta for the Final Four in 2013, these defendants operated in the shadows, selling these young girls for sex to anyone who would pay,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “The three teenagers who were exploited in this case are tragic examples of how quickly young women can be entrapped into commercial sex trafficking.”
“The sentencing of these four individuals who were previously convicted in federal court of human trafficking is a tremendous victory for the many investigators, counselors and non-government organizations working so hard to protect our nation’s children from those who would prey on them. While our streets are now safer with the removal of these callous and reprehensible defendants, the fight to eradicate human trafficking continues and the FBI asks that anyone with information regarding such activity to immediately contact their nearest FBI field office or law enforcement agency,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: From approximately mid-March 2013 to April 20, 2013, the four defendants recruited and enticed three juveniles for committing commercial sex acts. The juveniles ranged in age from 15 to 17 years old. The group’s criminal scheme also involved adult women engaged in prostitution.
The group recruited the girls and then provided them a place to live at an apartment in Sandy Springs, Georgia. At least one of the juveniles was required to have sex with Williamson as an “audition” for working for the group as a prostitute. Members of the group would take photos of the girls in lingerie and then post the photos in advertisements on the website “Backpage.com,” seeking men for commercial sex acts. Various members of the group drove the girls to their sex-dates at different hotels around town, and on occasion, male customers would also visit the Sandy Springs apartment for commercial sex. At one point Jernigan knocked one of the adult women to the ground in front of some of the other girls, dragged her into another room, and shaved off some of her hair.
The defendants’ scheme was uncovered as part of an FBI undercover operation aimed at locating and identifying minor sex traffickers operating during the NCAA Final Four Playoffs in Atlanta, Georgia in April 2103.
Isaiah Jernigan, 27, of Orlando, Florida, has been sentenced to 11 years, seven months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.
Darren Williamson, Jr., a/k/a Chef Boy RD, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced to ten years, three months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.
Marie St. Vil, a/k/a Jasmine, 27, of Orlando, Florida, was sentenced April 14, 2016, to six years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.
All defendants have received a $100 special assessment and are required to register as sex offenders as a condition of their supervised release.
This case was investigated by the FBI led Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation (MATCH) Task Force.
Assistant United States Attorney Skye Davis prosecuted the case.
Men who think they are buying sex from a consenting adult may actually be contributing to sex trafficking of minors unwittingly.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga