Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York | Department of Justice
Rai Thomas, also known as “Bandz,” was sentenced to 160 months in prison for sex trafficking a minor and using interstate facilities to promote sex trafficking and prostitution. The sentencing took place after Thomas was convicted at trial in October 2025 before U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román, who imposed the sentence.
“Rai Thomas preyed on a child for profit, advertising her to strangers on the internet and selling her for sex again and again so he could enrich himself,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “New Yorkers want child sex traffickers off our streets, never to return. Today’s lengthy prison sentence is indicative of this Office’s commitment to continuing to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to remove sex traffickers like Thomas from our streets and communities.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between January and February 2022, Thomas trafficked a minor referred to as Minor Victim-1 for commercial sexual activity at several hotels in the Bronx and Brooklyn. At the time of the offenses, Minor Victim-1 was living in a children’s group home. Authorities stated that Thomas enticed the victim into commercial sex acts, arranged transportation to hotels, reserved rooms where these acts occurred, advertised her online for commercial sex customers, and profited from the scheme.
In addition to his prison term, Thomas, 31, of Mount Vernon, New York, received five years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Clayton recognized the investigative efforts of several agencies: the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force; Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department; Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office; City of Poughkeepsie Police Department; and New York City Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Qais Ghafary, Kaiya Arroyo, and Jorja Knauer from the White Plains Division with support from Paralegal Specialists Gabriela Salerno, Samantha Olsen, and Shannon Becker.
