New Haven Man Gets 25 Years For Sex Trafficking During Super Bowl

New Haven CT

11 January, 2022

11:45 AM

Description

MIAMI, FL —A New Haven man who coerced two women and a girl into selling themselves for sex in Miami during Super Bowl LIV was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, the Justice Department announced. Edward Walker, 48, was convicted after an 8-day trial in October 2021. According to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, in January 2020, Walker brought two adult women and a 17-year-old girl to Miami from Connecticut to "engage in commercial sex acts during the Super Bowl," a news release from the DOJ reads. While in Miami, Walker "emotionally, psychologically, and financially coerced the victims into soliciting customers and having sex with them in exchange for money, all of which Walker kept," prosecutors said. Investigators found evidence that "Walker planned to take the victims to Chicago, Illinois (during the NBA All-Star Game), New Orleans, Lousiana (during Mardi Gras), Las Vegas, Nevada, and other places to further sexually exploit them," according to the Justice Department. A Florida jury found Walker guilty last fall of sex trafficking by force and coercion, sex trafficking of a minor and by force and coercion, and transporting a person for sexual activity, court records show. Read the criminal complaint against Walker here: USA V. Walker by Ellyn Santiago > Meanwhile, the Justice Department noted that Walker will soon be brought to Connecticut to face charges in US District Court for production of child pornography. The Walker case was investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, in partnership with MDPD's Human Trafficking Squad, and the South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force. The FBI New Haven; Homeland Security Investigations Miami; Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Miami Office; Miami Beach Police Department; and Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office assisted. To report suspected human trafficking or to obtain resources for victims, call 1-888-373-7888; text "BeFree" (233733), or live chat at HumanTraffickingHotline.org.