An Ohio man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for forcing a homeless woman into prostitution “countless times,” including across state lines, after beginning a romantic relationship with the woman, prosecutors say.
“He exploited (the woman) when she was vulnerable and lured her with romance and gifts, hallmarks of a genuine relationship,” prosecutors said of Leon Sims, 41, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. “He then sold it for money countless times over a period of months and kept the profits.”
Sims was sentenced to 37 months in prison last week for engaging in interstate prostitution, a violation of the Mann Act, the Justice Department said in a news release Tuesday.
Police first encountered Sims in December 2020, when the Boone County Sheriff’s Office in Kentucky responded to an online ad about prostitution.
An undercover agent arranged to meet a woman through the advertisement at a local Holiday Inn, where the woman eventually informed authorities that Sims took her to the lodging, according to prosecutors.
Officers found Sims sitting in a car outside the hotel, and the woman told police that Sims had been setting up meetings for months to get the woman into prostitution.
Sims was romantically involved with the woman starting in early 2020, according to prosecutors, and gave her gifts while she struggled with homelessness.
He later allegedly demanded that she pay for the gifts and ordered her to raise $1,000 a day or face punishment.
Leon Sims, an Ohio man, was sentenced to more than three years in prison for forcing a homeless woman into prostitution “several times.” Boone County Sheriff’s Office
“Specifically, (Sims) threatened to prevent her from sleeping or eating if she did not comply,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Prosecutors said that from October 2020 to January 2021, Sims arranged to send the woman throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and even to California, to meet clients for sex.
Sims reportedly brandished a gun at the woman when she objected to traveling to California for prostitution.
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Sims was also accused of repeatedly pressuring the woman to have sex with him and using physical force against her.
“Subsequent investigation revealed that, from at least October 2020 through January 2021, Sims arranged prostitution activities for the victim using online advertisements, managed those activities, communicated with prostitution clients, and kept the proceeds from the appointments. of prostitution. “During the course of managing the victim’s prostitution activities, Sims transported the victim from Kentucky to Ohio and California for the purpose of prostitution,” the Department of Justice said in its news release last week.
“At sentencing, it was determined that Sims used fraud or coercion to get the victim to engage in prostitution, including verbal threats, withholding necessities, and false promises.”
Sims’ attorney had argued that Sims drove the woman across state lines to engage in prostitution, but denied that his client ever forced her to have sex for money.
The attorney added that the woman bailed Sims out of jail when he was first arrested in December 2020.
“However, despite knowing Mr. Sims for only a few months, he did not take the opportunity to inform the authorities of any dangerous or unwanted situation he had found himself in, nor did he take the opportunity to ‘escape’ the Mr. Sims. while he was arrested and jailed and she was not,” the lawyer wrote, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The attorney added that the woman spoke to authorities about Sims to receive favorable treatment.
Sims moved to California following his arrest in 2020, before moving to Las Vegas in 2022.
Meanwhile, new charges, including human trafficking, were filed in Boone County, Kentucky, in February 2021.
In January 2022, Las Vegas authorities discovered that Sims had an active warrant in Kentucky and took him into custody.
He has been detained since January 2022.
The Boone County charges were dropped this year after Sims was indicted federally, the Cincinatti Enquirer reported.
Sims must serve 85% of his sentence under federal law and will be monitored by authorities for three years after his release from prison.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn