PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Dujuan Harris, 35, of Providence, R.I., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence on Tuesday to trafficking a 17-year-old girl from Texas to Rhode Island for the purpose of offering her for commercial sexual activity, and to being in possession of photographs of the minor victim in various stages of undress.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith, Harris admitted to the court that after he befriended the victim on the Internet, he communicated with her via cell phone, text messages and Skype. Harris admitted to the court that in June 2015, he facilitated the victim’s travel to Rhode Island. Harris paid for the victim to travel to Boston where he met her and then brought her to Providence. Once in Providence, he repeatedly offered the victim for commercial sexual activity.
Harris pleaded guilty to one count each of sex trafficking of a child and possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha, Providence Police Chief Colonel Hugh T. Clements, Jr., and Matthew J. Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations for New England.
According to information presented to the court, after befriending the victim on the Internet, Harris convinced the teenager to provide photographs to him in various stages of undress. Within a few days of her arrival in Providence, Harris took additional photographs of the victim in various stages of undress and posted some of the photographs of her in an ad on Backpage.com.
According to an investigation by the Providence Police Department and agents from Homeland Security Investigations, the response to the ad was immediate and numerous sexual encounters for a fee with the 17-year-old were arranged. All of the payments were turned over to Harris. When Harris told the young woman that he wanted to increase the number of sexual encounters as a way to increase the amount of money she was earning, the young woman told Harris she no longer wanted to participate. After discovering that the young woman had attempted to communicate with her family in Texas, Harris removed the battery from the victim’s cell phone and on several occasions refused to allow her to leave his Providence apartment.
On June 30, 2015, HSI agents, Providence Police detectives and members of the Human Trafficking Task Force located the victim in an apartment in Providence. Following the rescue of the victim, law enforcement discovered numerous nude photographs of the 17-year-old victim on Harris’ cell phone. Harris was arrested.
According to information presented to the court, since his arrest and detention at the Adult Correctional Institute, despite a no-contact order, Harris has contacted the victim more than 100 times.
Harris is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith on March 4, 2016.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ly T. Chin.
Prosecutors from the Rhode Island Department of the Attorney General are assisting the United States Attorney’s Office in the prosecution of this matter.
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