Marcus Dewayne Thompson, 28, and his wife, Robin Thompson, 24, from Park Hills, Missouri, were indicted today by a federal Grand Jury in Benton, Illinois, for one count of sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud, or coercion, and one count of conspiracy to do the same, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced.
An Indictment is a formal, legally required method of bringing charges against a defendant. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Division, and members of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, Fairview Heights. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
