A Long Beach, Calif., man was arrested yesterday arraigned this afternoon on federal sex trafficking charges that allege he worked with a previously charged defendant to coerce women to work as prostitutes.
Marquis Monte Horn, also known as “Taylor,” 34, was named in an eight-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Wednesday. The indictment includes charges of one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking, and one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.
The second man charged in the case – Roshaun Nakia Porter, 37, also of Long Beach – was arrested and indicted on sex trafficking charges in April 2012.
According to the superseding indictment, Horn used websites such as www.modelmayhem.com to recruit victims to work in a prostitution organization by claiming he and Porter were running an upscale escort service in which women could make $500 per day. Horn, Porter and others used various coercive tactics to induce the victims into engaging in prostitution. For example, they allegedly developed a romantic relationship with some victims, falsely promised victims they would only be working as an escort, falsely promised financial assistance for the victims and their families, falsely promised help to obtain lawful immigration status in the United States, and isolated some victims from their friends and family.
The indictment further alleges that Horn recruited one victim into the prostitution organization who was subsequently beaten, whipped and forced to engage in prostitution by Porter.
Investigators believe that there are additional, as-yet unidentified victims in this case. Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565.
Horn was arraigned on the indictment this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif.
If convicted of the charges in the indictment, Horn would face a statutory maximum penalty of life in federal prison.
Porter has previously pleaded not guilty in this case and was ordered to be held without bond. A trial for Porter is scheduled for May 7, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton Tucker.
This week’s superseding indictment in the result of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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