A Normal, Illinois man will spend up to 120 months in prison and another 10 years under supervision after being sentenced in late July for child sex trafficking.
Jahquan Howard, 29, was sentenced after pleading guilty in April to trafficking a young girl into prostitution.
“Howard rented hotel rooms in the Peoria area, transported the girl to the hotels, and have her controlled substances,” and U.S. Department of Justice press release reads. “He used online advertisements to solicit men to the hotel rooms to have sex with the girl and then collected payment for the act.”
U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris said sex trafficking is modern-day slavery and is particularly harmful when it involves minor children, such as it did in this case.
“There is zero tolerance for sex traffickers in the Central District of Illinois and we will work tirelessly to bring these predators to justice,” Harris said in the release.
Howard was indicted in February 2020 and entered a guilty plea in April 2022. He has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
The statutory penalties for sex trafficking a minor are 10 years to life imprisonment, followed by 5 years to life of supervised release. A fine of up to $250,000 may also be imposed.
U.S. District Court Judge James Shadid sentenced Howard July 21 to 120 months imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release for sex trafficking of a minor. Howard must also register as a sex offender.
“The FBI and our law enforcement partners work every day to shut down sex traffickers and deliver justice for victims,” said FBI Springfield Field Office Acting Special Agent in Charge Shannon Fontenot in the press release. “While this sentence effectively ends Jahquan Howard’s ability to sexually exploit children, the damage caused by this crime can linger for a lifetime for the victim. The FBI remains constant in our commitment to provide resources for victims to assist in the healing process.”
The Bloomington Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office investigated the case with assistance of the McLean County State’s Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Hollingshead-Cook represented the government in the prosecution.
The case against Howard was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov