Portsmouth Man Convicted of Sex Trafficking and Production of Child Pornography

NORFOLK, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Portsmouth man today on seven charges of sex trafficking, production of child pornography, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on April 30, 2022, Pierre De Romeo Smith, 40, met 16-year-old Jane Doe. The same day, he took sexually explicit photographs of her, as well as sexually suggestive photographs of her posed with the muzzle of a shotgun in her mouth. Several hours later, he posted these pictures of her on a commercial sex website, advertising her for commercial sex. For the following three weeks, the defendant continued to make her available for commercial sex—with as many as 30 “dates” a night—throughout the Hampton Roads area. He gave her amphetamines to keep her awake and confiscated the money from her dates.

On May 19, 2022, the Virginia Beach Police Department conducted an undercover commercial sex operation at a hotel in Virginia Beach where they encountered Jane Doe. When interviewing her at the hotel, detectives observed a text message on her phone from the defendant stating he was there.  The defendant was observed arriving at the hotel’s parking garage and was arrested. In his car were multiple controlled substances, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, and a Glock handgun, which the defendant was prohibited from possessing as a convicted felon.    

Smith faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison up to a maximum penalty of life when sentenced on August 9, 2023. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; and Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wilson Hanes accepted the verdict. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Montoya and Rebecca Gantt are prosecuting the case.

This case was investigated by the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force, a collaboration between federal, state and local law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as nongovernmental organizations, working together to combat human trafficking in the Hampton Roads, Virginia region.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-122.