JURY CONVICTS TWO DEFENDANTS FOR TRAFFICKING OF A MINOR
FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENGAGING IN PROSTITUTION
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced that defendants Darryl John Jennings, 41, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Luroy Jennings, 49, of Dallas, Texas, were found guilty by a federal jury on June 15, 2007, on two counts of sex trafficking of a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591(a)(1) and (a)(2), respectively. A third defendant, Sammy Lee Carpenter, 45, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty on June 11, 2007, to four counts of sex trafficking of a minor and enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1591(a)(1), 1591(a)(2), 2422(a), and 2422(b). Sentencing before United States District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga is scheduled for September 4, 2007, at 8:30 a.m. Carpenter faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, while D. Jennings and L. Jennings each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.
This arrest and prosecution was spearheaded by the FBI’s Minor Vice Task Force, which is a partnership between the FBI, City of Miami Police Department, Miami-Dade County Police Department, and the Miami Beach Police Department, as a part of the “Innocence Lost” initiative. The “Innocence Lost” initiative is a joint initiative between the FBI and the Department of Justice, in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which focuses on child victims of interstate sex trafficking.
According to the evidence presented during the trial, in February 2007 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, defendants Carpenter and D. Jennings took a Geo Prizm belonging to Carpenter’s ex-girlfriend. The pair traveled from Oklahoma to Florida, where they arranged to meet with D. Jennings’ brother, L. Jennings, who also used the alias “Captain Sco.” In Florida, defendants intended to begin a prostitution operation.
Defendants arrived in Orlando and each attempted to recruit women and girls to work as prostitutes in their venture. Carpenter secured the use of a 1999 Cadillac, which the three defendants used to travel to and from Orlando and Miami from late February through early March 2007. During their travels in Florida, Carpenter took photographs on his cellular telephone and sent them to various people, including a 17-year-old girl in Tulsa named “J.B.” Carpenter, who knew that the girl was a minor, had been romantically and sexually involved with her when he lived in Tulsa.
After Carpenter sent the pictures to J.B., among others, he contacted her on or about March 10, 2007, and invited her to Miami. Carpenter told the girl that she could stay with him in Florida and finish her pending GED classes. Carpenter also told her that he would get her a bus ticket to make the trip. Subsequently, on or about March 11, 2007, Carpenter and D. Jennings went to the Greyhound bus station in Miami and purchased her a ticket to Miami. Carpenter told the girl to call him often so that he could track her trip progress. Along the way, Carpenter changed plans and told the girl to disembark in Orlando. On March 14, 2007, the girl arrived in Orlando, where Carpenter and D. Jennings greeted her in the Cadillac.
The evidence at trial showed that once Carpenter, D. Jennings, and the girl entered the Cadillac, Carpenter’s demeanor changed. He instructed the girl that she could no longer speak to D. Jennings and that things would not be the same as they were in Tulsa. Carpenter also told her that her new name would be “Perfect.” Carpenter looked at the girl’s clothes and told her that “ho’s” did not wear capri pants and sneakers. Eventually, the three defendants and the girl drove in the Cadillac to Orange Blossom Trail, a street notorious for prostitution activity. Carpenter gave the girl instructions on prostituting, including who she should avoid and different areas to walk. That day, the 17-year-old girl picked up three “tricks” and performed commercial sex acts for money. She received a total of $250, which she gave to Carpenter.
On March 16, 2007, the defendants and the girl drove from Orlando to Miami Beach to view places where the girl could prostitute. In Miami Beach, the defendants and the girl were stopped on Washington Avenue by Miami Beach Police Department officers. As one of the officers began to speak with the girl, Carpenter yelled at her: “Shut up, bitch, don’t say nothin’!” The girl nonetheless told law enforcement that she needed help and that the three defendants would not let her contact her family and had not eaten for two days. Law enforcement took the girl into custody and arrested Carpenter, D. Jennings, and L. Jennings.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the FBI’s Minor Vice Task Force, including the Miami Beach Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey E. Tsai and Karlyn J. Hunter.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls, http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls/. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov/.
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