Brighton Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Sex Trafficking

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Thomas Cramer, 41, of Brighton, N.Y., who was convicted of sex trafficking of minors, was sentenced to 30 years in prison by U.S. District Court Frank P. Geraci, Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Rogowski, who handled the case, stated from April through December 2011, the defendant enticed, promoted and profited from the commercial sex activities of four young girls knowing, or in reckless disregard of the fact, that the girls were all under 18 years old. Cramer used the internet to identify and recruit victims who typically came from broken homes or who were runaways. The defendant lured young girls into the commercial sex business claiming that they would live a “fancy life style,” living and working in hotels while making money.

In one exchange of text messages, between Cramer and a victim, the defendant enticed the girl by telling her she could make much more money performing commercial sex acts than she could working at a grocery store. Although the girl initially told Cramer she was older than 18, when she informed the defendant that she was 17 years old, Cramer was undeterred and continued to engage in salacious texting with the female.

Cramer placed advertisements on adult web sites regarding the availability of the young girls for commercial sex acts. The acts took place at hotels in the Rochester and Buffalo and in the defendant’s residence. Customers were charged between $180 and $200 per hour to engage in sexual activities with the victims and Cramer received a portion of those proceeds.

In requesting a sentence within the Federal Sentencing Guidelines range of 30 years to life, the Government cited the fact the defendant spent the vast majority of his adult life in jail, or, when released, committing more criminal acts. Cramer has three prior felony convictions in federal court for fraud related offenses. The Government urged the Court to impose the severe sentence as necessary to protect the public from an individual who, despite lengthy jail sentences in the past, was never deterred from committing criminal acts of increasing severity. In imposing sentence, Judge Geraci stated that he wanted to send a strong message that abuse of young people will not be tolerated and those who chose to engage in that conduct “pay the price.” 

‘The United States Attorney’s Office, along with our partners at all levels of law enforcement, are aggressively fighting all forms of human trafficking, with includes the sex trafficking of minors,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “The 30 year sentence handed down in this case could mean that the defendant will spend the rest of his natural life behind bars. Let the penalty also serve as a warning to any other individuals who would consider similar behavior, we will arrest you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

“The defendant sexually exploited vulnerable minor females for profit and his own gratification,” said Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero of Homeland Security Investigations in Buffalo. “The reprehensible nature of these crimes, which included intentionally addicting his victims to drugs and threatening them with violence if they sought to leave his ‘business,’ should leave no doubt that he has earned every minute in prison he has received.”

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Mark Koss, and the Greece Police Department, under the direction of Todd K. Baxter.