Green Forest Man Sentenced To 15 Years In Federal Prison For Sex Trafficking in Joint Prosecution between the Western District of Arkansas and the Eastern District of Arkansas

FORT SMITH, Ark. – A Green Forest man was sentenced yesterday to 180 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release on one count of Using Facility of Interstate Commerce to Entice Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity and one count of Sex Trafficking of Children. The Honorable Judge P. K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Fort Smith.

According to court documents, in August of 2020, Berryville Police Department was notified that, Jason Daniel Vasquez, 22, had contacted a 14-year-old girl via Snapchat and had met with the minor on different occasions to engage in sexual acts. Days later Vasquez was arrested by Berryville Police Department after he arrived at a set location under the belief he was there to engage in sexual acts with the minor. Subsequent to Vasquez’s arrest, law enforcement located messages on Vasquez’s phone with another minor female. In the messages Vasquez offered to provide the minor tobacco products in exchange for sexual acts.  

Acting U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas and Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ross of the Eastern District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The Berryville Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations Fayetteville investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Marshall and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Bryant prosecuted the case for the United States.

This case was a joint prosecution by the Western District of Arkansas and the Eastern District of Arkansas.  The case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.