Montgomery County Man Sentenced for Sex Trafficking a Minor

Cooper Kweme, 31, of Silver Spring, Md., was sentenced today to 132 months in prison for the sex trafficking of a female juvenile, stemming from a prostitution business operated by Kweme earlier this year in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

Neil MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; James McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Daniel Murray, Arlington County Deputy Chief of Police, made the announcement after the sentencing by United States District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

“Mr. Kweme trolled social networking sites and then lured and groomed a juvenile girl into his prostitution business,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “Sex trafficking—especially of minors—is a heinous crime and has long-term psychological consequences for the victims. My office and the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force are committed to catching sex traffickers before they can enslave more victims and bringing these predators to justice.”

“Recruiting, exploiting, and transporting juveniles for the purpose of underage prostitution is among the lowest forms of human conduct,” said FBI ADIC McJunkin. “It’s a sad reality that people prey on our children. As a community, we must be aware of our children’s interactions and report sexual abuse so that we can bring criminals to justice.”

“This is another example of a successful collaboration between local and federal law enforcement,” said Deputy Chief Murray. “Our primary goal is protecting our communities, and that is achieved more rapidly when area agencies work together.”

According to evidence presented in court, Kweme used the Internet to advertise women as prostitutes for his business. In February 2011, Kweme recruited a 16-year-old female to work as a prostitute after meeting her on an online social network targeted at teens, where he falsely claimed to be in his mid-20s. On Valentine’s Day, Kweme and the teenage victim began an intimate relationship and Kweme took sexually suggestive photographs of her, which he later used to advertise her as a prostitute on the Internet. From March to May 2011, Kweme prostituted the victim in northern Virginia and Maryland. When clients paid the teenage girl for sexual acts she performed, she turned over the money to Kweme, who would give her a percentage of the fee charged to the client.

Kweme was arrested by the Arlington County Police Department on June 1, 2011, and pled guilty on July 29, 2011. After serving his prison sentence, Kweme will serve a term of five years on supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender.

This case was investigated by the Arlington County Police Department and the FBI’s Northern Virginia Resident Agency. Assistant United States Attorneys Morris Parker and Mary Daly are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Founded in 2004, the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force is a collaboration of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies—along with nongovernmental organizations—dedicated to combating human trafficking and related crimes.