A Chicago man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking a minor victim and distributing child sexual abuse material, officials stated.
His co-defendant, a Chicago woman, was sentenced previously to 19 years in prison for conspiracy to sex traffic the minor.
In April 2022, Geremy Glass, 35, and Markita Tidwell, 25, were involved in the sex trafficking of a minor they met in Chicago, according to authorities.
Glass was responsible for posting online ads, setting prices, and communicating with potential buyers, while Tidwell arranged transportation and booked hotel rooms for the sexual encounters.
Both received a share of the profits.
In mid-May 2022, they transported the minor to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where they forced her to participate in up to 15 sexual encounters in a single day. When the victim tried to stop or take breaks, Glass became violent, physically dragging her and slamming her face against a car window. He also sent explicit images of the victim to buyers over 50 times. Their activities were reported by hotel staff who noticed signs of abuse, leading to the victim’s rescue and the arrest of Glass and Tidwell.
On September 26, Glass pleaded guilty to sex trafficking a minor by force and distribution of child pornography.
He faces a prison term followed by lifetime supervised release.
Tidwell pleaded guilty on June 27 to conspiracy to sexually traffic a minor, resulting in her receiving a prison sentence followed by 20 years of supervised release.FBI Birmingham’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case along with FBI Chicago, FBI Milwaukee, the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force, the University of Alabama Police Department, the Tuscaloosa Police Department, and the Northport Police Department.
Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Leann White for the Northern District of Alabama prosecuted the case.