Houston rapper sentenced to life for sex trafficking teenage girls
Houston - A 29-year-old Houston rapper has been sentenced to life in prison for sex trafficking minors, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Jacorey Nathaniel Anderson, also known as Slando Kareem, was convicted on April 19 after a federal jury deliberated for less than two hours following a five-day trial.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner imposed the life sentence, highlighting the serious emotional and psychological harm inflicted on the victims. Two of those teenage girls were only 15 years of age.
"Anderson, a rap musician, performed vile songs glorifying the pimp/prostitute relationship," said Hamdani. "Unfortunately, for several young girls, he breathed life into his poorly crafted lyrics – providing drugs, starving, and trafficking them for his own financial gain. Despite the trauma they suffered, the victims in this case bravely testified against him at trial which secured his convictions…and thanks to their bravery, Anderson’s glorification of commercial sex, his human trafficking and his misogyny ends, both in art and in real life."
During the sentencing, one victim testified about the devastating impact of Anderson's actions on her relationships, underscoring the long-lasting effects of his criminal behavior.
Evidence presented during the trial revealed that Anderson lured the three minors and an adult victim from Houston to the Austin area through social media and text messages. Co-conspirator Lelonnie Stephon Jackson provided his Mercedes SUV, while another accomplice, Thomas Jarrett Barraza, transported the victims to a hotel in Austin.
At the hotel, the victims were instructed to "walk the track," a term for areas known for prostitution, and post sexually explicit advertisements for commercial sex online. Within 24 hours, the adult victim managed to escape.
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Over the next three days, the co-conspirators moved the three minors to a hotel in Stafford. After arriving, Jackson and Barraza left Anderson with the victims while returning to Austin. During this time, Anderson forced the minors to engage in commercial sex, posting ads online.
Two girls escaped within a day of arriving at the Stafford hotel. However, one minor remained with Anderson for several weeks, during which he continued to exploit her. Throughout this ordeal, Anderson starved the victims, provided them with drugs, and kept all the money earned from their commercial activities.
At the trial, evidence revealed that Anderson had been arrested in Dallas for attempting to traffic a minor who turned out to be an undercover officer. This arrest led to the examination of Anderson’s phone, which helped law enforcement identify his victims.
Jackson, 33, from Big Spring, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the trafficking operation and received a 60-month prison sentence. Barraza, 37, from Austin, also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing on November 12 while remaining on bond.
Both Anderson and Jackson will remain in custody pending their transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined soon. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas and the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA), with assistance from the FBI Houston and the Houston Police Department (HPD). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S.