United States Attorney Anne M. Tompkins
Western District of North Carolina
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A California man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in
Charlotte to serve 18 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release for
transporting an individual to engage in prostitution, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S.
Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
U.S. Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by Brock D.
Nicholson, Special Agent in Charge of ICE-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia
and the Carolinas, and Chris Briese, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division.
Craig Allen Rodgers, 31, of Lawndale, Calif. pleaded guilty in September 2011 to one
count of knowingly transporting an individual from another state to the Western District of North
Carolina, with the intent that the individual engage in prostitution or any sexual activity. He was
arrested and indicted in May 2011.
According to filed documents and court proceedings, from about March 2011 to about
May 2011, Rodgers transported a young woman with the initials “J.M.” to work as a prostitute in
various cities throughout the United States. According to the criminal complaint filed in this
case, Rodgers used online services to advertise commercial sex acts offered by “J.M.” and
another female. Court records indicate that “J.M.” generally made $300 per hour and Rodgers
kept nearly all of the money that she earned from prostitution. Court records also indicate that,
at least on one occasion, Rodgers struck “J.M.” when she told him that she no longer wanted to
work as a prostitute, however, Rodgers denied striking “J.M.” During today’s sentencing
hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. noted that Rodgers had been previously
charged in Pennsylvania for striking a prostitute working for him.
In announcing today’s sentence, Judge Cogburn warned Rodgers that the sentence should
serve as a “wake up call” to stop his pattern of using violence to get women to engage in
commercial sex acts.
The defendant has been in local federal custody in the Western District of North Carolina since May 2011. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation is handled by HSI and FBI. The prosecution for the government was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Kenneth M. Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
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