Date: 05-01-2015

Case Style: United States of America v. Darius Chambers and Terrance Martel Soda

Case Number: 3:15-cr-00278-JLS

Judge: Mitchell D. Dembin

Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of California (San Diego County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: Leah R Bussell and Scott Travis Jones

Defendant's Attorney: Kurt David Hermansen fpr Kurt David Hermansen

Knut Johnson for Darius Chambers

Description: SAN DIEGO – Two men pleaded guilty in federal court this week to trafficking children for commercial sex.

On Tuesday, Darius Chambers, 19, admitted before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen S. Crawford that he trafficked two girls – ages 16 and 17 – for commercial sex. Chambers admitted that, knowing the victims were underage and engaged in prostitution, he collected the proceeds of acts of commercial sex from one victim and provided hotel rooms, cellular telephones, and email accounts for both victims to use for commercial sex. Chambers also admitted that he offered to rent one of his victims to a third trafficker for $100, in order to train that individual’s minor victim in the ways of prostitution.

On Thursday, Terrance Martel Soda, 20, pleaded guilty before Judge Mitchell D. Dembin to trafficking a fifteen-year old girl for commercial sex, knowing that she was a minor. Specifically, Soda admitted that he provided hotel rooms for the victim to use for commercial sex and that he gave her a cell phone, an email account, and online advertisements to recruit customers.

Soda also admitted providing hotel rooms for two additional underage girls for purposes of commercial sex, and that some of the proceeds of those commercial sex acts would go to Lamar Moore. Moore pleaded guilty in October 2014 to trafficking a 17 year-old for commercial sex and aiding and abetting in the trafficking of a 15-year old for commercial sex.

Soda and Chambers are scheduled to be sentenced on July 31, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino.

DEFENDANTS Case Number:
Terrance Martel Soda Age: 20 San Diego, California
Darius Chambers Age: 19 San Diego, California

CHARGES
Trafficking children for commercial sex, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1591.
Maximum Penalties: Life, mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.


INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
San Diego Police Department
San Diego Sheriff’s Department

Outcome: Two Men Plead Guilty to Trafficking Children for Commercial Sex

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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