Sex Offender Faces Life In Prison For Sex Trafficking Children In South Jersey: Feds

CAMDEN, NJ — A registered sex offender pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to sex trafficking three children. Semaj A. Gilmore faces life in prison for the offenses.

Gilmore, of Camden, trafficked a victim — a then-missing Pennsylvania child — out of a Mount Laurel motel, according to federal authorities. An undercover agent met the victim there in April 2021, leading to Gilmore's arrest.

Investigators found that the man trafficked two other victims from September 2020 to the following April. Gilmore has been detained since April 2021.

Gilmore, 33, became a registered sex offender in September 2017 after he was convicted of criminal sexual contact. The conviction stemmed from sexually assaulting a 13-year-old, according to the state sex-offender registry.

The man pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of a superseding indictment charging him with sex trafficking minors. Each count carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years' imprisonment, with the potential for life in prison. Each conviction also carries a fine of up to $250,000.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 5.

In April 2021, investigators learned that a missing Pennsylvania child had been advertised for sexually illicit activities on a website often used to advertise prostitution. An undercover agent contacted the phone number on the ad — later revealed to be Gilmore's — and exchanged a series of texts with him, federal authorities said.

Gilmore instructed the agent to "get condoms" and to confirm he wasn't "a cop." The text exchanges led to the undercover agent meeting the victim in the Mount Laurel motel room. Gilmore waited in a car in the adjacent parking lot and fled when uniformed police entered the room. Officers stopped Gilmore's car and recovered the phone used to arrange the meeting between the victim and agent.