Minnesota man sentenced to more than 24 years in federal prison for sex trafficking minor girls

MINNEAPOLIS — A Twin Cities man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to more than 24 years in federal prison for trafficking underage girls.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Minnesota police departments of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Roseville.

Dontre D'Sean McHenry, aka Dontre Sean McHenry, aka Avon, and aka Rico, 26, of Minneapolis, was sentenced to 293 months in prison for recruiting and prostituting teenage girls throughout Minnesota. McHenry pleaded guilty to these charges Oct. 17, 2014. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Provinzino said, "Today, Dontre McHenry was held accountable for recruiting and trafficking the most vulnerable girls in our state — runaways, recent immigrants, and girls in foster care. As our recent anti-trafficking efforts show, protecting our children from violent and manipulative predators is a central mission for the U.S. Attorney's Office and our law enforcement partners. We will continue to be aggressive in the prosecution of these cases to protect our children from manipulation and violence at the hands of these predators that causes them to be sold for sex." 

According to the defendant's guilty plea and documents filed in court, from at least January 2013 until March 2014, McHenry recruited at least three girls under the age of 18 and prostituted them for his own financial benefit. McHenry advertised girls on backpage.com and in chatrooms, and made a sexually explicit video of a 15-year-old victim. McHenry instructed the victims how to talk to men on chat lines, what rates to charge for various sex acts, and how to set up "dates." The victims were instructed to, and gave all of the money they were paid for commercial sex acts to McHenry.

According to court records, on March 13, 2014, Minneapolis police executed a search warrant at a motel room in Roseville, Minnesota, which was previously occupied by McHenry and one of the victims. During the search, investigators discovered, among other evidence, handwritten notes and a book entitled "Pimpology: The 48 Laws of the Game." The handwritten notes included references to trafficking and prostitution, as well as questions that referred to recruiting and coercing minors.  Numerous text message conversations from customers arranging to meet with victims to purchase sex were found on the cellphones used by the defendant and the victims.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.