An Alabama man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $1 million in restitution for sex trafficking at least five victims, including a minor.
Middle District of Alabama U.S. District Judge Austin Huffaker Jr. handed down the sentence to 36-year-old Lonnie Dontae Mitchell.
Mitchell was convicted in June of coercing the victims into prostitution over the course of several years.
Federal authorities said Mitchell targeted vulnerable people who used drugs and encouraged them to inject heroin. He then withheld the drug to punish and control the behavior of his victims.
He also threatened his victims with violence and the prospect of releasing embarrassing information and photos to their family members and withheld their IDs and credit cards.
In addition, Mitchell regulated how much and when the victims could eat.
“The defendant used unspeakable violence and manipulation of the victims’ substance abuse problems to control their every move and exploit them for his own financial gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Human trafficking is an atrocious crime that targets some of the most vulnerable members of our society, cruelly robbing them of their dignity and freedom. The Department of Justice remains committed to prioritizing human trafficking prosecutions and vindicating the rights of the victims of these heinous crimes.”
Mitchell had two co-defendants, including his sister Nettisia Mitchell. Authorities said Nettisia witnessed her brother’s violence against a victim yet harbored the victim and received proceeds from the victim’s involvement in commercial sex.
She pleaded to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking was ordered 120 months in prison.
Donna Emmons pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to 151 months in prison.
The Department of Homeland Security, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Montgomery Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Patrick Lamb and MaryLou Bowdre for the Middle District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Kate Alexander of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit prosecuted the case.
“Today’s sentence reflects the defendant’s horrific treatment and abuse of his victims,” Middle District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart. “Although their physical injuries will heal, the emotional damage caused by their suffering will last a lifetime.”
