Clearwater Man Sentenced to More Than Nineteen Years in Federal Prison for Sex Trafficking a Child

Tampa, FL – United States District Judge Susan C. Bucklew today sentenced Gerald Eugene Mayham (41, Clearwater) to 19 years and 7 months in federal prison for sex trafficking a child. The Court also ordered him to serve a 10-year term of supervision upon his release and to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, in June and July 2013, Mayham conspired with Joel Raymond Nauta to cause a 16-year-old girl to engage in prostitution. Mayham, who knew that the victim was a minor, arranged the sex acts by soliciting men at various locations in Clearwater and Dunedin. To get the victim to comply with the scheme, Mayham threatened her and provided her with drugs. Mayham received the money from the sex acts, some of which he used to purchase drugs.

On April 29, 2014, Nauta pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 4, 2015.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Clearwater Police Department, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and the Largo Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph W. Swanson and Simon A. Gaugush.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.