Cleveland, July 4 (IBNS) Ohio man Anthony C. Willoughby was sentenced on Tuesday to 30 years in prison after a jury previously found him guilty of forcing a 16-year-old girl to engage in commercial sex acts, announced Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Cleveland Office.
“The details of this case underscore why it is so important that we continue to work collaboratively and try to eradicate this modern-day slavery,” said Dettelbach. “This defendant preyed upon a weak, vulnerable victim and used her suffering as an opportunity for profit.”
Special Agent in Charge Anthony said, “This case is one of the first human trafficking cases to go to trial in Northern Ohio. Investigating and prosecuting those involved in the sexual exploitation of the most vulnerable of victims is a priority of the FBI. The 30-year sentence imposed today represents the seriousness of the offense and should serve as a deterrent to child predators.”
Willoughby, 39, also known as “P.T.” and “Party Time,” last lived in Toledo, Ohio, according to court records.
A jury on December 16, 2011, found Willoughby guilty on one count of sex trafficking of a minor. Willoughby recruited, enticed, harbored, and transported a juvenile, identified in the indictment as “S.W.,” knowing that by means of force, fraud, and coercion the juvenile was caused to engage in a commercial sex act between February 15, 2009, and March 19, 2009, according to court records.
The victim in this case was 16 at the time of the crime. She had run away from foster care in the winter of 2009 when Willoughby, then 36, agreed to take her in, according to court documents. Willoughby convinced the victim they were in a relationship but then began arranging for “dates” for her from his client list, according to court records.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James V. Moroney and Ava Rotell Dustin, following an investigation by the Toledo Resident Agency of the Cleveland FBI and the Northwest Ohio Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force (NWOVCACTF).
The NWOVCACTF, directed by the FBI Toledo Resident Agency, includes special agents of the FBI and agents and officers from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation; Ohio Highway Patrol; Toledo Police Department; Lima, Ohio Police Department; Perrysburg Township, Ohio Police Department; Fulton County, Ohio Sheriff’s Office; and the Ottawa County, Ohio Sheriff’s Office.
