Acting United States Attorney Dana J. Boente
Eastern District of Virginia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 7, 2014

www.justice.gov/usao/vae/
CONTACT: PRESS OFFICER
(703) 842-4050
usavae.press@usdoj.gov

New York Man Sentenced to over 24 Years for Violent Sex Trafficking

Defendant used brutal tactics to victimize multiple women and girls into prostitution

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Taleek Sherrod Swinney, also known as “Kash da Pimp,” age 26, of Jamaica Queens, New York, was sentenced today to 294 months in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, for operating a sex trafficking ring using violence, force, and threats to victimize multiple women and girls. Swinney also was ordered to pay to the victims over $500,000 in restitution.

Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Scot R. Rittenberg, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington; and Stafford County Sherriff Charles E. Jett, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

“Swinney was one of the most violent sex traffickers ever found in the Eastern District of Virginia,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Boente. “My office will continue working to bring to justice sex traffickers who use violence to prey upon vulnerable women, and I thank our partners at Homeland Security Investigations and the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office for their commitment to this issue.”

“This sentencing marks the end of a life of misery inflicted on the victims of Swinney’s heinous sex trafficking operation. Swinney will be held accountable for his victimization and exploitation of these vulnerable women,” said Scot R. Rittenberg, Acting Special Agent in Charge, HSI Washington.

“Stafford County Sheriff’s Office Deputies have received extensive training in the signs and indicators of sex trafficking,” said Stafford County Sheriff Charles Jett. “This one case clearly illustrates that a strong partnership with law enforcement agencies nationwide, both federal and local, can bring violent criminals such as Swinney to justice.”

Swinney pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking on Nov. 4, 2013. According to court documents, Swinney has been prostituting women since at least 2006. He started in New York City, but later sex trafficked women and girls in multiple states along the East Coast from Connecticut to Florida, including in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington. As part of his operation, Swinney utilized the website Backpage.com to advertise the women and obtain commercial sex customers. At least one of his victims was a juvenile when Swinney began prostituting her.

Swinney required the women he prostituted to give him all of the money that they earned. Swinney frequently set a quota for the women, and those who failed to meet the quota were not allowed to eat.

As detailed in the statement of facts entered at Swinney’s plea, Swinney’s violence included beating one of his victims almost daily. On one occasion, Swinney used a metal rod to beat this victim, stopped to film the victim naked and bleeding, and then continued beating her. During this beating, Swinney fractured the victim’s nose and jaw. Swinney later showed this video to other pimps, including a co-conspirator known as “Prince Charming.”

Swinney often would beat victims in the presence of the other women that he was prostituting as a means of instilling fear in all of them. In one instance, Swinney lacerated a victim’s face and ear with a box cutter. When another victim became pregnant, Swinney forced the woman to obtain an abortion. In another instance, when one of Swinney’s victims refused to get out of his vehicle and walk the streets to obtain customers, Swinney threw her out of the moving vehicle. Later, when Swinney found out that one of the victims was cooperating with the government, he threatened her and her family with violence.

This case was investigated by HSI Washington and the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from HSI New York and the New York Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Frank prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.