Human Trafficker Sentenced to Jail With Help from Gwinnett Police

Jessica Loren Posey, 25, was sentenced on Monday to serve more than seven years in federal prison for transporting a 16-year-old juvenile girl to Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio for the purpose of prostitution.

Several metro Atlanta agencies assisted in the case, including the Gwinnett County Police Department.

“Child sex trafficking is an horrific crime committed by both men and women,” said United States Attorney Sally Yates. “This defendant had no regard for the vulnerability of her victim and lured her into a quick-money lifestyle that led to the juvenile’s repeated sexual exploitation. Human traffickers should take note:  You will be found and prosecuted for your role in sexual exploitation.”  

“The FBI will continue to make those who engage in human trafficking a priority for investigation and prosecution,” stated Mark F. Giuliano, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office. “Today’s sentencing of defendant Posey should provide some solace for those whom she victimized in that she has now been taken off the streets.”          

According to Yates, Posey met the juvenile around April 2010, when the victim was 16. Posey caused her to engage in prostitution. To facilitate the girl’s commercial sex acts, Posey used a laptop computer to create advertisements of the child that she placed on websites, including backpage.com; uploaded nude photographs of the juvenile on her cell phone and on a website that Posey created; arranged for customers to engage in sex acts with the victim; and rented the hotel rooms where she caused the girl to engage in prostitution. 

Posey also drove the juvenile, and other young women, to various locations outside Georgia to commit commercial sex acts, including Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. 

Posey received one half of the proceeds earned by the juvenile victim and the other young women. 

Posey, an Atlanta resident, was sentenced by United States District Judge Richard W. Story to seven years, three months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. 

She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,200 to the minor victim, perform 100 hours of community service, and register as a sex offender.

Posey was convicted of these charges on February 6, 2013, following her entry of a guilty plea.          

The case was also investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Atlanta Police Department, Sandy Springs Police Department, Marietta Police Department, Fulton County Police Department, Clayton County Police Department.