United States of America v. Byron Cordell Thomas

Tulsa, Oklahoma, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with two counts of sex

trafficking and one count of possessing a gun as a convicted felon.



Mr. Thomas claimed the statute required proof "that force, fraud, or coercion was actually 'used to

cause' an individual to engage in a commercial sex act, thereby depriving that individual of valid consent to the sex act.



The relevant portions of the statute requires proof of an act (enticing, recruiting, or soliciting a person, for example) and a mental state—knowing or recklessly disregarding that force, threats of force, fraud, or coercion "will be used to cause the person to engage in a commercial sex act.” § 1591(a). The mental-state requirement targets "the defendant's plan for the victim at the time he recruits her.” United States v. Wearing, 865 F.3d 553, 556 (7th Cir. 2017). And so "the crime is complete when the defendant recruits, entices, harbors, etc., the victim with knowledge that the prohibited means will be used in the future to cause them to engage in commercial sex acts.” United States v. Maynes, 880 F.3d 110, 114 (4th Cir. 2018). The statute does not require proof that a commercial sex act actually occurred. Id.; see also Wearing, 865 F.3d at 556 (collecting cases).

BOP 240 months concurrent to ct 1; SR 3 years; SMA $100



Affirmed