Man Sentenced to 260 Months for Sex Trafficking an 18-Year-Old Through Force and Repeated Beatings
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California announced that Sedrick Shamall Jackson, 27, of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced in federal court in San Diego, San Diego County, California, to 260 months in prison — 21 years and eight months — for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, in case number 25-cr-4580-TWR.
"Human traffickers who use fear, manipulation, and brutality to control their victims can expect lengthy federal prison sentences," said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. Kevin Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego, said the sentence holds Jackson accountable and that law enforcement partners will continue to pursue those who exploit and brutalize victims.
According to court documents and evidence presented to the court, Jackson recruited the victim when she was 18 years old and quickly established a controlling relationship that evolved into commercial sexual exploitation. He taught her how to engage in prostitution, dictated where and how she worked, controlled all of the earnings from her commercial sex acts, and subjected her to repeated physical violence when she failed to meet his demands. He transported her across Nevada, California and Arizona, profiting from her commercial sex acts, and controlled where she lived, where she worked, the prices she charged and how she advertised online.
Court records describe numerous instances in which Jackson punched, kicked, whipped and otherwise abused the victim, sometimes for days, causing significant injuries, accompanied by psychological manipulation designed to maintain control and discourage her from leaving. On August 29, 2024, the victim fled and reported to the National City Police Department that she was being sex trafficked; even after she sought help, Jackson continued attempting to control her through phone calls, manipulation and threats. Evidence at sentencing also showed the abuse continued after she later returned to him: in October 2025, the victim escaped from an apartment in Denver after another prolonged assault, fleeing without shoes, a phone or identification and calling 911, and responding officers documented extensive injuries consistent with the abuse she described.
In imposing a sentence above the advisory federal sentencing guidelines range, Judge Robinson cited the victim's youth, the extreme and repeated violence inflicted upon her, the serious bodily injuries she suffered, and Jackson's criminal history, including prior convictions involving violent offenses against women. The conspiracy charge carries a statutory maximum of life in prison and a fine of up to $10 million.
The case was investigated by HSI San Diego with the San Diego Sheriff's Office, HSI Denver and HSI Las Vegas, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, the Denver Police Department and other partners, as part of the work of the Southern District of California's Special Victims Unit, formed in April 2025.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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