Gulfport jury convicts man of sex trafficking after his victim escapes in Mississippi
A female victim of sex trafficking managed to escape in Mississippi, but a man charged in the case did not, and he has been convicted by a federal jury in the Southern District of Mississippi.
The jury found Michael Deon Fulcher, 54, guilty of sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 30 and he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and mandatory restitution for the sex trafficking charge.
Co-defendant, Jonzie Hamilton, 35, previously pleaded guilty to interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution. Her sentencing hearing is Jan. 31.
The FBI Gulfport Field Office investigated the case and the verdict was announced Monday in a press release that said Fulcher lured the physically injured victim into his car in Las Vegas in 2020 by making false promises to help her. He then brought her to his home and sexually assaulted her.
Soon after, Fulcher brought the victim to California, where he and Hamilton forced the victim to engage in commercial sex acts over the course of several weeks.
Fulcher required the victim to follow his strict rules, threatened the victim with physical harm, confiscated her money and Social Security debit card and had an unlicensed dentist pull out her teeth.
Fulcher also sent the victim and Hamilton across the country for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex, stopping in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and eventually Mississippi, where the victim ran away.
“The defendant preyed upon this vulnerable victim and used sexual violence and threats of physical harm to coerce her into commercial sex for his own financial gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We thank this victim for bravely facing her trafficker.”
“This way this victim was trafficked across multiple states and then into Mississippi is an example of how human trafficking affects our entire nation,” said U.S. Attorney Todd Gee for the Southern District of Mississippi. “We will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute human traffickers, like the defendant, as part of our efforts to bring an end to this horrible crime.”
Trial Attorneys Kate Alexander and Francisco Zornosa of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit prosecuted the case, with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Anyone with information about human trafficking should contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
