JACKSON, Mississippi — In a significant victory, a federal jury in the Southern District of Mississippi has convicted California sex trafficker Michael Deon Fulcher, 54, on charges of sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, and interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution on January 23, 2024. This verdict follows the guilty plea of co-defendant Jonzie Hamilton, 35, for interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division emphasized the vulnerability of the victim, stating, “The defendant preyed upon this vulnerable victim and used sexual violence and threats of physical harm to coerce her into commercial sex for his own financial gain.“
The victim’s courage in facing her trafficker was commended, and Clarke affirmed the Justice Department’s commitment to vigorously prosecuting such cases to hold human traffickers accountable and bring justice to their victims. Acting Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Jackson Field Office reassured the public of the FBI’s dedication to investigating human trafficking cases, particularly those involving sex trafficking, which the agency takes very seriously.
Read more: Getting Compensation as Victims of Sex Trafficking
During the trial, evidence revealed Fulcher’s use of sexual assault, threats of violence, isolation, control, psychological manipulation, and emotional abuse to compel the victim into commercial sex between April and June 2020. Fulcher initially lured the physically injured victim into his car in Las Vegas under false promises to help her, only to sexually assault her.
Subsequently, Fulcher transported the victim to California, where he collaborated with Hamilton to force her into commercial sex acts over several weeks. Fulcher imposed strict rules, threatened physical harm, confiscated the victim’s money and Social Security debit card, and subjected her to extreme measures, including having an unlicensed dentist extract her teeth.
While on the road, Fulcher maintained control over the victim by coercing her to send him all her earnings, threatening physical harm, limiting her access to her phone, isolating her from anyone she knew, and denying her much-needed medical treatment. A sentencing hearing for Fulcher is scheduled for April 30, with a maximum penalty of life in prison and mandatory restitution for the sex trafficking charge. Hamilton’s sentencing hearing is set for January 31st.
