TEXAS
An Amarillo woman was sentenced last week to 34 months in federal prison for harassing a sex trafficking victim, officials stated.
Deziree Lujan attempted to dissuade her from testifying against her trafficker, according to authorities
Lujan, 29, pleaded guilty to witness tampering in March. She was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Ada Brown.
According to plea papers, Ms. Lujan admitted that she threatened to beat a sex trafficking victim for cooperating against defendant Tremont Blakemore, who was charged in September 2019 with operating a large-scale human trafficking operation.
Mr. Blakemore, aka “Macknificent,” allegedly forced multiple women into commercial sex and slapped, punched, choked, and kicked victims he believed were not being honest or making enough money for him.
He is slated to go to trial on August 23. Blakemore is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Ms. Lujan, a member of Mr. Blakemore’s alleged trafficking organization, admits she outed one of Mr. Blakemore’s alleged victims on social media, calling her “a snitch,” and “a rat,” officials stated.
Ms. Lujan threatened the victim with physical harm, warned the victim that she would post law enforcement reports about the victim online, and reached out to known pimps to reveal the victim’s identity and cooperation.
The defendant admitted she acted intentionally to harass the victim in order to dissuade her from testifying against Mr. Blakemore, according to authorities.