A Savannah man was sentenced to life in prison last week for his role in a conspiracy in the sex trafficking of minors.
Jeremy Grant, 26, was sentenced last Friday by Chief United States District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood to life in prison, said First Assistant United States Attorney James Durham. Grant’s life sentence means that he will spend the remainder of his life in prison without chance of parole, Durham said.
“During the guilty plea and sentencing hearings, the evidence showed that between at least June 2014 and January 2015, Grant recruited vulnerable and financially destitute minors by offering them food and shelter. He then forced the minors to engage in sex acts for money, which he kept,.”
Grant took pictures of the minors, used on-line social media sites to advertise the minors, and transported the minors to various hotels to engage in commercial sex acts., Durham said. The evidence further showed that Grant physically abused some of the minors, raped them, and threatened to kill their families if they did not engage in prostitution.
“This defendant stole the childhood and innocence from his victims and made their lives a living hell,” said United States Attorney Edward J. Tarver. “ He turned our most vulnerable and precious citizens into sex slaves and sold them for money, over and over again. Let me be absolutely clear: anyone who abuses children for their depraved sexual and financial enjoyment will be brought to justice and can expect to spend the rest of their life in prison.”
The investigation of this case was conducted by the FBI, Pooler police and Savannah-Chatham police.
While sentencing Grant to life in prison, Judge Wood said that Grant’s conduct was “soul sapping” and that Grant committed “almost unfathomable actions towards human beings.”
Assistant United States Attorneys Tania D. Groover and Carlton R. Bourne prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Anyone who suspects instances of child sexual exploitation is encouraged to call 1-800-843-5678, which is operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in partnership with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.