Sex Trafficker of Minors Found Guilty by Federal Jury

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Southern District of Mississippi

Criminal Used Gun, Drugs, Violence to Force Minors to Have Sex in Exchange for Money

Jackson, Miss. – After a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, a federal jury in Jackson found Willie Charles Blackmon, Jr., 36, of Jackson, guilty on Thursday of two counts of sex trafficking minors through force, fraud, maintaining and harboring the minors for commercial sex acts, and two counts of advertising and promoting prostitution, announced United States Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.

Beginning in July 2014 and continuing through March 2016, agents with the Jackson FBI, Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, FBI New Orleans Violent Crimes against Children Task Force, Clinton Police Department and Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated Willie Charles Blackmon, Jr.’s prostitution ring. Blackmon purchased a runaway minor for $500 and recruited runaway minors for prostitution. Blackmon knew the minors would engage in commercial sex acts with men for money. Blackmon would rent rooms at local hotels in Jackson and Vicksburg for the minors for days at a time. Blackmon kept most, if not all, of the money earned by the minors from the sex acts. The evidence showed that Blackmon would physically harm the minors and threaten them by holding a gun to their heads if they did not perform or if they disrespected him. He also provided drugs to the minors.

"This criminal deserves the harshest punishment under the law for harming, threatening and drugging children to do unspeakable things for money. I commend our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, as well as our prosecutors and support staff, for bringing this monster to justice and rescuing these victims. I would ask the public to help us by continuing to be vigilant to these crimes that occur all around us and promptly reporting any suspicious activity to law enforcement," said U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst.

Judge Carlton Reeves will sentence Blackmon on March 4, 2019 at 9:00 am. He faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, and fines of up to $1 million.

This case was investigated by the FBI Jackson Division’s Child Exploitation Task Force, with assistance from the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, FBI New Orleans Child Exploitation Task Force, Clinton Police Department and Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorneys Glenda R. Haynes and Keith French prosecuted the case. 

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

Topic(s): 

Project Safe Childhood

Component(s): 

USAO - Mississippi, Southern

Project Safe Childhood - Department of Justice initiative

Project Safe Childhood is the Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.  The threat of sexual predators soliciting children for physical sexual contact is well-known and serious.  The danger of perpetrators who produce, distribute and possess child pornography is equally dramatic and disturbing.  There is often an international dimension to these crimes – for example, some offenders travel to victimize children outside of the United States or view live video streams (in addition to recorded still and video images) of children being abused in foreign countries.

The department is committed to the safety and well-being of every child and has placed a high priority on combating sexual exploitation of minors.  Through a network of federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, Project Safe Childhood attempts to protect children by investigating and prosecuting offenders involved in child sexual exploitation.

The department expanded Project Safe Childhood in May 2011 to encompass all federal crimes involving the sexual exploitation of a minor, including sex trafficking of a minor and crimes against children committed in Indian country. Failure to register as a sex offender offenses now also fall within the ambit of Project Safe Childhood.

Project Safe Childhood is implemented through partnerships with numerous stakeholders,  including: U.S. Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs) and the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys; the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces; federal law enforcement partners, including the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS); advocacy organizations such as the National Institute of Justice; and state, local, tribal and military law enforcement officials.

READ THE  PROJECT SAFE CHILDHOOD FACT SHEET