Plead Guilty to Pandering Charge
-Two Admit Luring Young Woman Into Prostitution-
WASHINGTON - Amina Hamid 20, and Charles Mayberry, 19, both of Oxon Hill, Md., pled guilty today to a charge of pandering, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Both defendants pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Robert I. Richter scheduled sentencing for July 19, 2013. They face a statutory maximum of five years in prison on the charge.
According to the government’s factual proffer at today’s plea hearing, in early 2013, Mayberry lured a young woman into working for him and Hamid by telling her that prostitutes who worked for him earned up to $1,000 per day. Thereafter, Hamid set up an ad on a website in which she advertised the young woman as “... the girl u can use like a toy."
Hamid used her own cellphone number in the ad and handled calls from potential customers. Then she and Mayberry drove the young woman to agreed-upon locations with the customer. Hamid told her what to charge for various sex acts. The young woman turned over the proceeds to Hamid and Mayberry, who then gave her a share.
On May 10, 2013, an undercover police officer, posing as an interested customer, texted Hamid’s cell phone and made arrangements to meet the young woman at a hotel room on New York Avenue NE. Hamid and Mayberry delivered her to the hotel, where they waited for her to return with the money. When the undercover officer gave a pre-arranged signal, an arrest team moved in and arrested Hamid, Mayberry and the young woman.
In announcing today’s plea, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the FBI/Metropolitan Police Department Joint Task Force on Human Trafficking, which investigated the case. He also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Jason Manuel and Victim/Witness Advocate Tracey Hawkins. Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted this case.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
