Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Men convicted of trafficking teen girls from Las Vegas for prostitution

Two men accused of transporting girls from Las Vegas to California to engage in prostitution have been found guilty in federal court, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says 20-year-old Sha-Ron Haines was convicted Tuesday on four counts including one count of sex trafficking of a child and one count of transportation of a minor for prostitution. The co-defendant in the case, 19-year-old Tyral Edward King, pleaded guilty Aug. 14 to a count of transportation of an individual for the purpose of prostitution, the office said.

Prosecutors say a Clark County probation officer alerted Metro Police in June 2014 that a 15-year-old girl was possibly engaged in prostitution.

When police investigated, they found the defendants took the teen and a 17-year-old girl from Las Vegas to Pomona, Calif., and Los Angeles to engage in prostitution with clients found through classifieds website Backpage.com.

The ads were funded by King’s credit card, the office said.

In May 2014, all of the money the girls were paid went to the men, and one of the girls was arrested after an undercover Los Angeles police officer responded to an ad, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Haines is expected to be sentenced Dec. 8 and faces at least 10 years in prison while King is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 10 and faces up to 10 years, the office said. Both men could also receive $250,000 fines, the office said.

The men were indicted by a federal grand jury Aug. 6, 2014, after work by Operation Protect the Powerless, a joint effort from June 1, 2014 to Dec. 31, 2014 that targeted traffickers and other sexual predators.

The operation was an effort of the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Metro Police, Henderson Police Department, Clark County District Attorney’s Office and U.S. Marshals Service.

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