Las Vegas, Nev. – A Sacramento, California man was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Kent J. Dawson to 35 years in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release for transporting a 15-year-old girl to Las Vegas for the purposes of prostitution, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and for using the firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, announced Steven W. Myhre, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Mario Weicks, aka Mario Valardie, aka Anthony Hill, aka Marcus Williams, aka Marcus Daniels, age 31, was convicted by a jury in March 2006, of two counts of Transportation of a Minor for Prostitution, two counts of Travel for Illicit Sexual Conduct, one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and one count of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence.

Weicks sentence was enhanced due to the Court's finding that Weicks committed perjury during the trial by willfully testifying to materially false facts in an attempt to obstruct justice. There is no parole in the federal system. Offenders must serve their entire sentence of imprisonment, but for any "good time" credit which must be granted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Mr. Weicks was also ordered to undergo sex offender treatment, and upon his release from prison, he may not associate with persons under 18 without supervision and prior approval from the United States Probation Office.

According to the court records, on October 21 and October 29, 2004, Weicks traveled from Sacramento, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, with a fifteen-year-old female he had enticed to engage in prostitution. Weicks also engaged in sexual relations with the juvenile in Nevada, and demanded that the girl provide him with the proceeds of her prostitution activities.

Weicks was arrested by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Officers on October 30, 2004, near the intersection Las Vegas Boulevard and St. Louis Street. Officers recovered a loaded .38 caliber revolver from the vehicle in which Weicks transported the juvenile from California to Nevada. Weicks told the juvenile he possessed the firearm to protect her during her work as a prostitute. Weicks was prohibited under federal law from possessing the firearm, as he had been convicted of the felony offenses of Possession and Delivery of a Controlled Substance and Assault in the Third Degree in Spokane, Washington, in 1992 and 1996, respectively.

This case was referred to the U.S. Attorney's Office by the Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force, comprised of state, local and federal law enforcement partners who conduct weekly reviews of arrests in Clark County involving violent or recidivist offenders who are carrying guns illegally or using guns in crime. It was investigated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Vice Division, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christina M. Brown.

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