Wisconsin Man Sentenced for Sex Trafficking a Child

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Milwaukee, Wisconsin man was sentenced in federal court today for the sex trafficking of a child.

Gerald H. Paul-Gibson, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Paul-Gibson to 10 years of supervised release following incarceration.

On March 9, 2022, Paul-Gibson pleaded guilty to the sex trafficking of a child. Paul-Gibson admitted that he recruited, transported, and advertised a 15-year-old victim for prostitution, and either knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that the child victim was under the age of 18.

Kansas City, Mo., police officers initially arrested the child victim for soliciting prostitution during a human trafficking sting at a local hotel on April 24, 2019. Once arrested, officers recognized she was a minor. She identified herself via her high school email address and confirmed she was 15 years old.

The child victim told investigators she met Paul-Gibson in Milwaukee and he brought her to Kansas City. Paul-Gibson placed advertisements online and transported her to the hotel for the appointment with an undercover police officer. Paul-Gibson, who was parked outside the hotel, was arrested. When investigators searched his cell phone, they found a large number of text messages that confirmed Paul-Gibson recruited women for prostitution. In some conversations, Paul-Gibson refers to himself as a pimp.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood

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."