Sex trafficking case; Milwaukee gang member sentenced 20 years
The U.S. Department of Justice seal. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man convicted of multiple sex trafficking charges has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Jovante Champion, 31, was convicted at trial of four felony crimes: sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; interstate transportation for prostitution; sex trafficking of a child and by force, fraud, or coercion; and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
A news release from the U.S Department of Justice says the evidence at trial proved that Champion was a member of a Milwaukee gang known as "Everything Business," an offshoot of a violent Chicago-based street gang known as the Black P. Stone Nation. Officials say Champion used his position within the gang and false promises of love and financial security to recruit two victims, one when she was 20, and the other after she had just turned 16. Champion used physical force, complex layers of coercion, his possession of a firearm, and the backing of his gang to sell
his victims for commercial sex in Illinois, Tennessee, and Texas, officials say. Numerous exhibits introduced at trial included Champion’s own words detailing his trafficking crimes included in text messages as well as Facebook posts and messages.
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At sentencing, United States District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller emphasized the enduring impact of the trauma Champion’s victims experienced, both at the time of the trafficking in 2019, as well as when the victims re-lived those events during trial.
The FBI and the Wisconsin Department of Justice – Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) investigated the case with the assistance of the Dallas Police Department and the San Antonio Police Department.