MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin man was sentenced to more than two decades in federal prison for forcing multiple young women and girls to engage in commercial sex and to perform at exotic dance clubs on Indian reservations in Northern Wisconsin.
“This case is an example of the ruthlessness of human traffickers who are willing to do anything, including victimizing women and girls, to make money,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge James M. Gibbons. “Human trafficking is modern-day slavery, and HSI will continue to collaborate with our community partners to bring justice to those impacted by this terrible crime.”
Paul Carter, 47, of Milwaukee, was sentenced Wednesday to 21 years in prison, reduced by three years for time served. On Oct. 6, 2017, he pleaded guilty to four counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and one count of conspiracy to commit forced labor and sex trafficking.
According to documents filed in court and in connection with the defendant’s guilty plea, for more than a decade, from 2001 to 2013, Carter recruited young women and girls to dance at clubs using false promises of money and a better life.
Carter then used a combination of physical violence, isolation, emotional manipulation, sexual assault, and threats to harm the victims’ families to exert control over the victims and compel them to engage in commercial sex acts.
For example, on one occasion, Carter used a heated wire hanger to brand a “P” on a victim’s buttocks to demonstrate that he owned her. When he learned that another victim was considering leaving, he put the barrel of a gun in her mouth and threatened to “blow her head off.”
On another occasion, Carter, believing that a victim had hidden money from him, responded by searching her genitals. Then he forced her to have sex with him.
In another instance, the defendant required her to choose between two punishments: drowning or jumping out of a window. After the victim jumped out the window, Carter kicked her several times in the head, threw the victim to the ground, and stepped on her head hard enough to break her teeth.
Two of Carter’s co-defendants previously pleaded guilty. On Oct. 27, 2015, defendant David Moore pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and trafficking with respect to forced labor. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 30, 2018.
On June 9, 2014, defendant Najee Moore pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and use of an interstate facility to promote a prostitution business enterprise. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison Dec. 22, 2016.
