Man Organized Woodbury Sex Trafficking Operation From Jail

WOODBURY, MN — Daniel David Ellington, 38, of Brooklyn Park, has been sentenced to 100 months, or more than eight years in prison, after organizing a sex trafficking operation from jail. Ellington was convicted of promotion of prostitution after police said he facilitated the illegal activity at hotels in Woodbury and Brooklyn Center.

The charge against him came out of an investigation conducted by the East Metro Sex Trafficking Task Force.

According to the complaint, members of the EMSTTF initiated a proactive investigation into a commercial sex operation that was occurring at a hotel in Woodbury. After the victim of trafficking was recovered, detectives began to examine cellular phone data and discovered that Ellington, while bring incarcerated in the Kanabec County Jail on unrelated charges, advised, organized, promoted and profited from the prostitution of the victim in Woodbury.

The investigation also discovered several other instances of sex trafficking that Ellington was involved in.

"With every sex trafficking sentence the tragic reality remains that commercial sexual exploitation continues to be a pervasive scourge in our community," Washington County Attorney Pete Orput said in a statement.

"Mr. Ellington, through a jail cell miles away, perpetrated these acts on our victim locally. In order to protect these victims, and hold others like Mr. Ellington accountable, we will continue to partner with law enforcement and provide all the resources needed."