New York Man Convicted of Sex Trafficking Minors at Milford Hotel

A jury in Hartford found Edward “Fire” Thomas, 40, of New York, guilty of the sex trafficking of minors on Jan. 26.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, in September 2012, Thomas answered an Internet prostitution advertisement for a 17-year-old girl from Oregon. Over the next month, Thomas recruited and enticed the girl to travel to New York to work for him. The girl eventually agreed and traveled to New York with a second girl, who was 16 at the time, using bus tickets purchased by Thomas. Thomas knew that the two girls were under the age of 18. 

After the girls arrived in New York, Thomas and the two minor girls went to a hotel in Milford, where they met Kayla Walters, Thomas’ co-defendant, and posted prostitution advertisements. In Milford, the two minors saw customers for commercial sex acts at the direction of Thomas. While the 16-year-old minor escaped from a hotel room window after several hours, the 17-year-old girl continued to work for Thomas for about a month, turning over all of the money she earned in prostitution to Thomas. When she attempted to leave, Thomas forcibly restrained her. Ultimately, the girl was recovered for the first time by the FBI and local police in Milford on Nov. 8, 2012. Law enforcement seized nearly $4,000 in cash from Thomas during the first recovery, along with several computers and cellular phones.

“This defendant preyed on the vulnerabilities of two girls whom he lured 3000 miles away from their homes,” stated U.S. Attorney Daly. “The U.S. Attorney Office is committed to prosecuting individuals who manipulate minors into committing sexual acts – often under the threat of violence – and profit handsomely from this illegal and reprehensible conduct. I thank the FBI for their vigilance in investigating these crimes, which have resulted not only in criminal convictions, but in the rescue of numerous girls and young women from terrible environments.”

Thomas recruited the 17-year-old girl a second time in July 2013 and again paid for her travel from Oregon to the East Coast. After Thomas sent Walters and the minor to Connecticut, the FBI and local police again recovered the girl from a hotel in Milford.

“Human trafficking, especially for the purpose of underage prostitution, is a heinous crime,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Patricia M. Ferrick said. “The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue these criminals and hold them accountable.”

Thomas was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor and two counts of sex trafficking of a minor. Judge Chatigny scheduled sentenced for April 17, at which time Thomas faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.

On November 10, 2014, Walters pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor and is currently awaiting sentencing.

Thomas and Walters have been detained since their arrests on Feb. 28, 2014.

Thomas’ criminal history includes a 2007 conviction in New Jersey for promoting prostitution with a child under the age of 18.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The Stratford and Milford Police Departments have assisted the investigation.

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