California man gets 10 years for effort to ‘train’ Nevada girl for career in prostitution
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A 41-year-old Berkeley, California, resident was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 years in prison for trying to coerce a girl into prostitution after they met on social media.
Dustin Michael Joseph pleaded guilty in August to one count of attempted coercion and enticement. The charge stemmed from Joseph’s efforts to recruit who he believed was a teenage girl into making pornographic videos in a Carson City hotel room.
An FBI investigation revealed that Joseph asked the girl “if she would be interested in filming content for a paid subscription service where a lot of content involves sexually related activities,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Between March 14, 2021 through June 24, 2021, Joseph told the girl that he would pay her a couple of hundred of dollars per video,” according to court documents and admissions made in court. “He was going to train her to be a working girl so that she could work the various Reno events and make money, which she would have to split with him. On June 24, 2021, Joseph traveled from Berkeley to Reno and paid for a hotel room in Carson City, so he and the girl could film a pornographic video and have sex.”
Joseph had previous Nevada drug convictions dating back to 2011, and was released from the Nevada Department of Corrections on May 26, 2019.
Chief U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du ordered Joseph to serve 10 years, followed by lifetime supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Regional Human Trafficking and Exploitation Unit, including officers from the Reno Police Department, Sparks Police Department and Washoe County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Rachow prosecuted the case.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood and for information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or https://report.cybertip.org.
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