Amherst Man Sentenced To 30 Years For Sex Trafficking

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051
 
BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today Kenneth Graham, 27, of Amherst, N.Y., who was convicted following a jury trial of sex trafficking by force, sex trafficking of a minor by force, and sex trafficking of a minor, was sentenced to 30 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. In another significant development, the defendant was also ordered to pay $366,000 in restitution to the victims and must forfeit $80,000 in proceeds from his criminal behavior. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Trini E. Ross and Kathleen A. Lynch, who handled the case, stated that between winter 2010 and August 2012, the defendant recruited, promoted and profited from the prostitution activities of two minor girls knowing that the girls were under the age of 18. Graham also recruited, promoted and profited from a third victim, a woman in her 20's.

Graham placed advertisements on the web site backpage.com. One ad read “Amazingly Sexy Sweet Petite Companion 20 working out of the airport area.” The acts took place in various hotels in the towns of Amherst and Cheektowaga and customers were charged between $100 and $200.

According to evidence presented by the Government, two of the victims were assaulted and threatened by the defendant. One victim testified that Graham told her "I'll kill you" and a second victim testified that Graham brandished a weapon at her. Under cross examination, the defendant admitted to pushing one of the victims into a wall and over a piece of furniture.

"This case- with the first of its kind jury verdict- demonstrates why this crime is known as modern day slavery," said U.S. Attorney Hochul. "To think that anyone would work to systematically rape our community's children is outrageous, and today's sentence properly expresses that outrage.

“While this significant sentence cannot fully restore the emotional and physical damage suffered by the victims in this case, it should nevertheless serve as a warning to individuals engaged in this type of depraved behavior: HSI and our partners will be relentless in our continued pursuit of traffickers,” said James C. Spero, Special Agent in Charge for HSI Buffalo. "
 
The sentencing is the result of an investigation on the part of members of the Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero, the Amherst Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Askey, the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack, and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda.

Additional support was provided by the Western District of New York Human Trafficking Task Force and Alliance. Anyone who has knowledge of any form of trafficking is encouraged to contact the Task Force or the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline at 888-373-7888.