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green belt, Maryland – U.S. District Court Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Sean Dean, 29, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 10 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years on probation, for conspiring to engage in trafficking sexual intercourse of a minor. Judge Hazel also ordered that upon release from prison, Dean must register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, is employed and where he is a student, under the Registration Act. and sex offender notification (SORNA). .
The sentence was announced by the Acting United States Attorney General for the District of Maryland, Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) James R. Mancuso; and Chief Russell E. Hamill III of the Town of Laurel Police Department.
According to Dean’s plea agreement, from December 2017 to January 2018, Dean recruited, housed, transported and / or maintained five women, including four minors between the ages of 15 and 17, to engage in commercial sex acts. Dean used social media and cell phones to recruit, monitor, lead and communicate with the four girls and the woman.
As part of the sex trafficking business, Dean and / or a co-conspirator rented hotel rooms in Timonium and Laurel, MD, for victims to engage in commercial sex acts. Dean and his accomplice transported the victims to the various hotels where they would stay for several days. While in hotel rooms, under Dean’s direction, the victims used a website to advertise themselves for commercial sex acts. The ads featured photos of the victims in provocative poses and provided contact information that clients could use to get a “date” with the victims. The victims were to share some of the proceeds of any commercial sex act with Dean and his co-conspirator.
As detailed in his plea agreement, Dean and his co-conspirator transported three of the underage girls and the woman to a hotel in Timonium. The victims stayed at the hotel for about a week and met several clients a day to engage in commercial sex acts. The victims shared some of the proceeds of their commercial sex acts with Dean and the co-conspirator. Dean also rented rooms at a hotel in Laurel, where the victims engaged in commercial sex acts with several clients. Dean also recruited the fourth underage girl to come to the hotel to perform sex acts.
On January 11, 2018, Dean and his accomplice transported the five victims to another hotel in Laurel, where Dean had rented rooms for the victims to use for commercial sex acts. In response to a complaint, law enforcement responded to two different rooms Dean rented. The police located three underage girls and the woman in the two rooms. The fourth underage girl had already left the hotel. Dean and the co-conspirator escaped to avoid detection by law enforcement. After leaving the area, Dean exchanged messages with the woman stating that he had left to avoid law enforcement as he knew one of the victims was a minor. Dean also ordered the woman to delete their messages.
This case was investigated by law enforcement members of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders. Membership includes federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and members of the local community. For more information on the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/priorities_human.html.
Report suspected cases of human trafficking to HSI’s hotline at 866-DHS-2ICE (1-866-347-2423) or by filling out its online tip form. Both are permanently staffed with investigators.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended HSI and the Laurel Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr Lenzner thanked Deputy US Prosecutors Joseph R. Baldwin and Elizabeth Wright, who pursued the case.
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