U.S. District Judge John A. Ross sentenced Carrie Little to 20 years in prison for prostituting a minor, as announced on Thursday. The case, investigated by the St. Louis County Police Human Trafficking Task Force and the FBI St. Louis Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, involved the recruitment of women for prostitution, including a 17-year-old.
Beginning in 2018, Little provided the minor with housing and used sexually explicit photos of her in online advertisements for commercial sex. She arranged sexual encounters and handled payments, requiring the victim to give most of the money to her.
In a letter to the court, the victim described experiencing "a very toxic combination of verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual exploitation," which led to significant mental strain and shame. She recounted how Little initially had her manage phone calls and ads before taking her on "dates," stating, "I was sold to many men to perform sexual acts to make money for you."
Little pleaded guilty in August to one count of coercion or enticement of a minor. The Hazelwood Police Department also contributed to the investigation while Crisis Aid International and the International Institute of Saint Louis assisted victims.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dianna Edwards and Nathan Chapman prosecuted this case under Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.