Darnell Fulton, 38, of Pineville, Louisiana, plead guilty Friday to conspiring to force three minors to work and transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, officials stated.
According to the plea agreement, between June 2016 and May 2019, the defendant used violence, sexual abuse, withholding of food, degradation, and intimidation to coerce multiple minors to work for his brownie baking business and provide him with the business profits.
The defendant required the victims to travel to as many as 20-30 locations a day, such as plazas, car dealerships, law firms, restaurants, and parking lots, to sell brownies.
The victims worked late into the night, either selling or baking the brownies, and sold them during the day instead of going to school.
According to authorities, the victims typically worked seven days a week with very few breaks and had to meet a sales quota daily.
The defendant regularly assaulted the victims, especially if they did not meet his sales quotas.
For example, the defendant frequently required the victims to get on their hands and knees on rice and stay in a pushup or plank position for hours, and he often whipped them with a belt if they got out of proper form.
He also forced the minor victims to perform sexual acts with him and others and transported them across state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity.
“This case is proof that human trafficking doesn’t just happen in other countries,” said U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown for the Western District of Louisiana. “But in fact, human trafficking can be happening right in our own neighborhoods and communities without us even realizing it. Each of us must be vigilant and aware of our surroundings and if we see a situation that seems suspicious, take the time to report it to the police.”
Fulton’s sentencing hearing has been scheduled for April 11. Fulton faces up to life in prison.
The FBI New Orleans Field Office, Alexandria, investigated this case, with assistance from the Alexandria Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker for the Western District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Maryam Zhuravitsky of the Justice Department’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit is prosecuting the case.
Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.