Man Sold 13-Year-Old Girl Into Prostitution, Plied Her With Drugs

A Maryland man has been sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison for selling a 13-year-old girl into prostitution, according to federal authorities.

Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Daniel Burton, also known as Snoop, 30, of Capitol Heights, MD, to 262 months in prison followed by lifetime supervised release.

“This is an egregious case because the ‘prostitute’ was a 13-year-old child,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “The lengthy sentence should send a powerful message that sex trafficking of children will not be tolerated in Maryland.”

According to his plea agreement, in March 2008, Burton began calling a 13-year-old girl whom he saw on the street, eventually recruiting her to work as a prostitute.

Burton sold her for sexual services on Craigslist and kept the money paid, plying the girl with alcohol, marijuana and ecstasy, officials said.

On April 1, 2008, police responded to a complaint at a hotel where they found Burton and the girl in a room. Burton claimed the girl was a relative and police arranged for the girl to return home. Burton subsequently picked the girl up at her home and continued the prostitution scheme, according to the news release. 

On April 8, 2008, law enforcement saw a Craigslist ad for the girl’s sexual services and arranged a “date.” Law enforcement arrived at the hotel and arrested Burton, who was sitting outside, authorities said.

The case was investigated by the FBI-led Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force, which works with the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders. 

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said the FBI and Prince George’s County Police worked on the investigation.