Jessup Sex Sting Lands Trafficker 9 Years in Prison

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — For trafficking a minor across state lines and forcing her to perform sex acts for money, a Delaware man was sentenced this week to nine years in prison.

Nathaniel Lee Thompson, 29, of the 1800 block of Scott Street in Wilmington, pleaded guilty to one count of human trafficking of a minor and was sentenced Monday in Howard County Circuit Court.

His accomplice pleaded guilty to receiving the earnings of prostitution, and she was sentenced in May to five years in prison. She is appealing the sentence, court records show.

The charges came from an undercover police investigation at the Red Roof Inn in Jessup on Feb. 8, according to the Howard County State's Attorney's Office.

After monitoring online ads for suspected prostitution and seeing someone who appeared underage, an FBI agent and Maryland State Police detective arranged to meet the girl named "London," according to Assistant State's Attorney Colleen McGuinn.

The 17-year-old victim told investigators she was brought to Maryland and Virginia from Delaware for prostitution, and Thompson and his partner (Janice Figueroa) took most of her money, police said.

Online evidence backed up what the victim said. Her web ad had an instant messaging link to Thomson and Figueroa, according to McGuinn.

She told officers they could find her traffickers in a Cadillac at the diner near the motel. Police said they saw the vehicle drop her off for their "date."

As police were closing in on the vehicle, Thompson went into the diner and slipped out the back door, eluding officials. He left his wallet, containing his license, inside the Cadillac, which belonged to his uncle, the state's attorney reported.

When officers approached the Cadillac, Figueroa was hiding in the backseat.

Authorities said they placed the victim with protective services and she was to be reunited with her family.

Howard County Circuit Court Judge Richard S. Bernhardt sentenced Thompson to 25 years in prison, with all but nine years suspended. He also mandated that he register as a Tier II sex offender for 25 years and be on probation for five years.

See Also: Alleged Pimp Snuck Out of Jessup Restaurant to Elude Arrest

Photo Credit: Howard County Police Department.