Texas Man Charged with Transporting Woman to Sex Traffic Her in Hobbs, New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Markell Quashan Sweargin, 19, of Lubbock, Tex., made his initial appearance in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., on a criminal complaint charging him with transporting a person in interstate commerce for the purpose of forcing the person to engage in a commercial sex act. Sweargin remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and detention hearing, both of which have yet to be scheduled.

The criminal complaint alleges that on June 14, 2017, officers of the Hobbs Police Department arrested Sweargin on state charges after responding to a domestic disturbance call from a woman (victim) who alleged that Sweargin strangled and assaulted her during an altercation arising from her refusal to engage in a sexual act with another man for money.

According to the criminal complaint, Sweargin, the victim and another person traveled from Lubbock to a hotel in Hobbs, N.M. Once in the hotel room, Sweargin allegedly attempted to coerce the victim into having sex with other men for money, and became angry when the victim refused. The complaint further alleges that when Sweargin and the other person left the hotel room, a man came to the room with the expectation of having sex with the victim. When the victim refused to have sex with him, the man departed the room after telling the victim that he had come in response to an advertisement on a webpage known to advertise prostitution services. The complaint alleges that when Sweargin returned to the hotel room, he was very angry because the victim did not have sex with the man in return for money, began to hit the victim, and blocked the door to the hotel room to prevent the victim or the third person from leaving. When Sweargin stepped away from the door, the victim and third person fled.

If convicted of the charge in the criminal complaint, Sweargin faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the HSI and the Hobbs Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Ong of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.