Springfield Woman Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking a Child

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Missouri, woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to her role in the sex trafficking of a child.

Danna Marie Rodriguez, 36, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of the sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of the sex trafficking of a minor.

By pleading guilty today, Rodriguez admitted that she was involved in prostituting a 15-year-old female, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe 1.” Rodriguez took sexually explicit photos of Jane Doe 1, which were sold to another person. Rodriguez also admitted that she gave ecstasy to the child victim prior to the child victim meeting an unidentified man for sex at a local hotel, for which the child victim was paid $70. Rodriguez and her partner kept the rest of the payment.

Under federal statutes, Rodriguez is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. 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. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, and the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was 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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."