He also must register as a sex offender.
Frederick, Md (KM) In Frederick County Circuit Court on Wednesday, a Washington DC man was sentenced in a human trafficking case. Abiathar Vance, 41, was given 50 years incarceration with all but 25 years suspended. He will also be placed on five-years probation after he’s released, and must register as a Tier II sex offender. And he must have no contact with any victims in this case.
State’s Attorney Charlie Smith says on December 30th, 2017, Frederick Police responded to the McDonald’s on South Jefferson Street to investigate reports of an abduction. He says officers made contact with Vance and a 16-year-old girl who had been reported missing for two months. “During a later interview, the victim advised she had met the defendant, Vance, and a co-defendant, Luis Privado, in August at Union Station. Vance induced her to become an escort.”
She ended up going on “dates” for money, and Vance received the proceeds, says Smith.
Smith says Vance arranged for hotel rooms and clients. Privado also arranged for hotel rooms, and drove Vance and the victim back and forth between Washington DC and Frederick.
Through the course of their investigation, police were able to identify a second adult victim. She indicated she met Vance through a Craigslist ad soliciting strippers for a strip club. But when she arrived in Frederick, this second victim learned there were no strip clubs, and she was instead induced into escorting. She also said Vance arranged all the dates and took all of the proceeds.
Privado, a former DC correctional officer, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting human trafficking. He was sentenced in December to five=years in prison.
Vance pleaded guilty in December to two counts of human trafficking of a minor, and one count of human trafficking.
Smith says Vance’s sentence is significant. “25-years is a very substantial sentence when you consider that maximum sentences for crimes such as 2nd-degree murder aren’t far off,” he says.
“We hope that it will send a message that if you choose to engage in human trafficking with these minors, you’re going to be dealt with very harshly, at least here in Frederick,” says Smith. .
By Kevin McManus