INDIANAPOLIS — A judge sentenced a 28-year-old man from Fort Wayne to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor.
According to court documents, Damion Alexander met a 17-year-old girl online in 2021 and convinced the minor and her adult friend to travel with him and engage in commercial sex acts.
Court documents say Alexander drove the girl back and forth from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis-area hotels on multiple occasions between May 15, 2021, and June 2, 2021.
Alexander also took sexually explicit photos and videos of the girl and adult, and used the material for online commercial sex advertisements.
Cellphone videos showed Alexander berating and abusing the girl while she was severely impaired, according to the United States Attorney's Office Southern District of Indiana.
Court documents say Alexander got thousands of dollars by trafficking the minor for sex, while he assured her he was holding the money and would give it back to her if she ever needed it.
On June 2, IMPD officers found the girl at a hotel on the city's north side. Police said Alexander was waiting outside of the victim's hotel room, but left the scene when officers approached.
"Pimps like this defendant inflict lasting trauma with utter disregard for the safety or dignity of those they exploit," said Zachary A. Myers, United States attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. "The sentence imposed today should serve as a warning to would-be traffickers: if you sell minors for sex you will spend many years in federal prison."
After his release from prison, the judge ordered Alexander be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 15 years, as well as pay $13,000 in restitution to his victims.
Alexander is also required to register as a sex offender where he lives, works and goes to school.
