Brighton Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking of Minors

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Thomas Cramer,  43, of Brighton, N.Y., pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of minors before U.S. District Judge Frank Geraci, Jr. The charge carries a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life, a fine of $250,000 or both.

            Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Rogowski, who is handling the case, stated that between April and December  2011, the defendant enticed, promoted and profited from the commercial sex activities of at least four females knowing, or in reckless disregard of the fact, that the females were under 18 years old. One incident involved the exchange of text messages between Cramer and a girl. The defendant enticed the girl by telling her she could make much more money performing commercial sex acts than she could working at a grocery store. Although the girl initially told Cramer she was older than 18, when she informed the defendant that she was 17 years old, Cramer was undeterred and continued to engage in salacious texting with the female.

            Cramer placed advertisements on adult web sites regarding the availability of the minor females for commercial sex acts. The acts took place at hotels in the Rochester and Buffalo and in Cramer’s residence. Furthermore, customers were charged between $180 and $200 per hour to engage in sexual activities with the minor girls and that Cramer received a portion of those proceeds.

            "Our Office along with our partners at all levels of government are aggressively fighting all forms of human trafficking, including the sex trafficking of minors," said U.S. Attorney Hochul. "Of particular concern is that many victims are being lured over the internet making them more vulnerable than ever to defendants like Thomas Cramer."

            “Few crimes strike at our community the way sex trafficking does,” said James C. Spero, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Buffalo. “The sexual exploitation of children and young adults for financial gain demonstrates the extreme greed and depravity of sex traffickers. Our HSI special agents relentlessly pursue sexual predators to rescue their victims.”

            The plea is the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Mark Koss, and the Greece Police Department, under the direction of Todd K. Baxter.

            Sentencing is scheduled for June 27, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. before Judge Geraci.