‘Lady Tank’ going to prison for helping run teen sex trafficking ring in Lexington

India “Lady Tank” Cuyler has been sentenced to 15 years and eight months in federal prison for her part in a Lexington County human trafficking ring that involved the former internet dating site Back Page and selling sexual access to two 16-year-old girls, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Thursday in a news release.

The 26-year-old’s sentence was handed down Wednesday by U.S. Judge Michelle Childs.

In February, Cuyler’s partner, Donnell “Tank” Woodard, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison by Childs after pleading guilty to conspiracy to sex trafficking minors and benefiting financially from that illegal activity.

“The cruelty of sex trafficking is hard to comprehend, and it must be punished severely,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Rhett DeHart in the release. “This sentence closes the door on the horrific crimes committed by these defendants and demonstrates our commitment to stopping sex trafficking in South Carolina.”

A 2018 indictment in the case said Cuyler and Woodard had conspired to use “two vulnerable minor females to engage in commercial sex acts” and took their photos and advertised them on the Internet as prostitutes. Cuyler and Woodard then took the teens to various motels and collected money from them after the transactions were finished, the indictment said.

According to evidence in the case, the illegal acts took place in various Columbia area motels.

Cuyler previously pleaded guilty in federal court to using a facility of interstate commerce (a cell phone) to entice a minor under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activity, according to the release.

Cuyler and Woodard, 33, were arrested on Nov. 21, 2017, by the Lexington Police Department as part of a prostitution sting that rescued the two 16-year-olds, The State previously reported.

Undercover officers discovered an underage female teen advertising sex on a website and set up a time to meet with the girl at a local motel, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. The officers saw the girl being dropped off by Woodard and the 26-year-old Cuyler, who were both arrested while they were waiting on the minor, according to the release.

The investigation led to another nearby motel where a second girl, who was also involved in the illegal venture, was located by the West Columbia Police Department. Both girls were taken into emergency protective custody, The State reported.

Woodard was also ordered to make restitution to the victims, will be on supervised release for 15 years when he leaves prison and will be required to register as a sex offender, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

The judge also ordered Cuyler to make restitution to the victims.

The maximum punishment Cuyler faced was a life sentence in prison. Following her prison term, Cuyler will be on supervised release for 15 years and will be required to register as a sex offender, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

There is no parole in the federal system.

At sentencing, Cuyler received an obstruction of justice enhancement for 2017 jail phone calls in which she attempted to have another minor assault the minor victims in retaliation for cooperating with law enforcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Cuyler also lost her reduction for acceptance of responsibility for pleading guilty after she assaulted another inmate inside the jail, which resulted in a state assault charge, according to the release.

In addition to Lexington and West Columbia police, the case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Stacey Haynes and Carrie Sherard.

“Today’s sentencing, along with the previous sentencing of Donnell Woodard, has brought an end to a local child sex trafficking operation,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Susan Ferensic said in the release. “These hideous crimes are frequently uncovered by local law enforcement. We thank the Lexington Police Department and the West Columbia Police Department for their vigilance and dedication as they worked alongside the FBI to bring these individuals to justice. We ask that if anyone sees any indication that a child is being trafficked, they report such to their local law enforcement agency or the FBI.”

Cuyler was represented by federal public defender Daniel Leonardi.

Woodard’s lawyer, John Delgado of Columbia, had asked Judge Childs for mercy, saying his client suffered from a “major depressive disorder” caused by a 2009 incident, in which a friend who was shot died in his arms. Woodard takes a “never-ending round of medication” to stop the “replay of this incident over and again in his memory and suffers from repeated dreams and fears that he himself was shot.”