Skip to main content
Press Release

North Suburban Sex Trafficker Sentenced to More Than 27 Years in Prison

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois

CHICAGO — A federal judge has sentenced a north suburban man to 27 and a half years in prison for attempting to transport a minor to Wisconsin to engage in prostitution.

DERONARTE NORWOOD, 32, of North Chicago, physically and emotionally harmed the 15-year-old girl after meeting her in 2015.  He exploited the girl in graphic online advertisements offering commercial sex, and then sent her to have sex with strangers, leaving her alone in hotel rooms.  Norwood pocketed all of the money she made.

Norwood was arrested in October 2016 in Waukegan, and he has remained in custody since then.  A federal jury in Chicago last year convicted him of attempting to transport a minor to Wisconsin from Illinois to engage in prostitution.  U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman imposed the 330-month sentence Thursday in federal court.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Substantial assistance was provided by the Lake County Special Investigations Group, Winthrop Harbor Police Department, and New Albany, Ind., Police Department.

“Defendant is among those criminals who destroy the lives of our communities’ most precious resource – children,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicole M. Kim and Abigail Peluso argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “Defendant was a predator who targeted, assaulted, and repeatedly exploited [the victim].”

If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by logging on to www.missingkids.com/home or by calling 1-800-843-5678.  The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Updated June 3, 2019

Topic
Violent Crime