San Diego-area man sentenced to 17 years for prostituting teenage girls

SAN DIEGO – A Chula Vista man convicted of causing two underage girls to engage in commercial sex using force, fraud and coercion was sentenced Friday to 204 months in federal prison.  

Willie Dwayne Mickey, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz, who described the defendant as “every parent’s nightmare.”  The case is the result of a yearlong probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego.

According to court records, Mickey advertised the victims as adult escorts willing to engage in commercial sex on backpage.com. The ads provided the hourly fees, including a discounted two-for-one package. The investigation found that, over a period of years, Mickey recruited and trained the victims on the rules of prostitution and made arrangements for their commercial sex activity, including transporting them to their jobs and collecting their pay.

HSI special agents in San Diego began investing Mickey in November 2014 after receiving information that resulted in the rescue of a 16-year-old girl from a sex trafficking situation. HSI special agents arrested Mickey in April 2015 and rescued a second victim at the scene. Both teens received support from HSI’s Victim Assistance Program.  

Members of the public who have information about possible human trafficking activity are urged to contact ICE through its tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or www.ice.gov/tips.  For more information about the Department of Homeland Security’s overall efforts against human trafficking, please http://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign.