JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Columbia, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to child sex trafficking.
Kenyata D. Miles, 35, of Columbia, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matt J. Whitworth to the charge contained in a March 19, 2014, federal indictment.
By pleading guilty today, Miles admitted that he booked two rooms for two nights at the Quail’s Nest Inn in Osage Beach, Mo., in April 2013. Law enforcement officers found a 16-year-old female who had been reported as missing in one of the rooms; Miles and two women were in an adjacent room.
According to today’s plea agreement, advertisements had been posted on Backpage.com advertising the availability of the child victim and one of the women for sexual services. Miles arranged hotel reservations and provided transportation to hotels for their prostitution activities.
Under federal statutes, Miles is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the FBI, the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Osage Beach, Mo., Police Department in conjunction with the Human Trafficking Rescue Project.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
