Fairfax Man Guilty of Prostituting a Minor

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Alexis Rahkeem Carter, aka Bishop, of Fairfax, pleaded guilty today to sex trafficking of a child.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Carter was a member of a group known as “Scheme Team.” Scheme Team prostituted at least two teenage girls and one adult woman and operated in northern Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Initially the gang robbed individuals and businesses, and eventually moved to selling narcotics and firearms, and sex trafficking.

To groom the minor victims for commercial sexual activity, Carter performed sex acts on the minor victims. Carter obtained sex customers for the women and girls he prostituted by posting advertisements on the Internet.  Carter also set the prices that the women and girls he prostituted were supposed to charge sex customers for commercial sex acts, ranging from $80 for a “short stay,” to $500 for sex acts that involved a customer having sex with two girls.  Carter instructed the victims to submit to any sex act that customers wanted to perform on them.  Victims were required to earn $1,000 per day, and Carter took nearly all of this money, even searching the victims to ensure that they were not withholding money from him. Carter told the victims that he had guns, and would threaten violence and sometimes used physical violence on the victims.

In addition to threats and violence, to keep the victims compliant Carter frequently provided them with alcohol and controlled substances, including prescription painkillers, molly, spice, and marijuana.

Carter faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, and a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on Nov. 13, 2015. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

Carter was apprehended by officers from the Special Problems Unit of the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office after they discovered him prostituting a minor victim in Stafford County.

This case was investigated by ICE/HSI and the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Stafford County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Frank is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-cr-256.

###