Buffalo Man Sentenced On Sex Trafficking Charges

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y.—Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Anthony Thompson, a/k/a Fresh Tone, 36, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of sex trafficking of a minor, was sentenced to 188 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The defendant was also ordered to pay $399,000 in restitution to the victims in this case.
 
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marie Grisanti and Trini E. Ross, who handled the case, stated that Thompson engaged in the sex trafficking of two adults and one minor, between November 2012 and September 2014. The defendant recruited and enticed the three victims to engage in commercial sex acts at his direction. One of the victims was recruited through social media. Thompson then advertised the availability of the victims on social media including “Backpage.com.” The defendant also required that some victims “walk the streets” in order to attract customers for commercial sex. As a result, Thompson received all the money earned from the commercial sex acts by the victims.

Thompson pleaded guilty in April 2016 just as a federal jury was to begin hearing evidence involving the charges against him. Some of that evidence included profane and degrading rap lyrics that the defendant wrote regarding women and prostitution as well as social media postings by Thompson which glorified the sexual exploitation of women. In one posting comparing the sale of women to the sale of narcotics, the defendant stated: “U can sell it n still have it after you sell it. It goes nowhere….u don’t have to re up, or u not riskin years n jail.” Acting United States Attorney Kennedy noted that 188 months in prison equals 15 and one-half years in jail. 

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly; the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack; the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Timothy Howard; and the Western New York Human Trafficking Task Force.