JUNE 2024:
U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Sex Trafficking of an Adult by Force and Coercion.
Odarie Massiah, age 34, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Massiah was indicted by a federal grand jury in August of 2023. He was found guilty on March 14, 2024, following a three-day court trial.
The conviction stemmed from incidents between July 1, 2020, and September 24, 2022, when Massiah recruited and forced an adult woman to engage in prostitution. Massiah used physical and emotional abuse to gain the victim’s compliance. Massiah required the woman to give him the money received from the forced prostitution. Massiah fled the state with his victim after a warrant for his arrest was issued in Minnehaha County for physically assaulting her by strangulation on two separate occasions. Massiah was apprehended in Tennessee with his victim in August of 2022.
“Odarie Massiah went to great lengths to keep this victim engaged in prostitution,” said U.S. Attorney Ramsdell. “He manipulated her; he physically abused her; and he used the money she made through prostitution to support his own lifestyle. Massiah’s conviction and subsequent sentence demonstrate our office’s commitment to seeking justice on behalf of the victims of these reprehensible crimes. We do this work alongside our local and federal partners, whose persistence in identifying and investigating sex trafficking makes our communities safer places to live.”
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Sioux Falls Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey C. Clapper and Elizabeth A. Ebert-Webb prosecuted the case.
MARCH 2024:
U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has convicted Odarie Massiah, age 34, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, of Sex Trafficking of an Adult by Force or Coercion following a three-day court trial in federal district court in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on March 14, 2024.
The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a possible maximum penalty of life in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, up to life of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Massiah was indicted by a federal grand jury in August of 2023.
Between July 1, 2020, and September 24, 2022, Massiah recruited and forced an adult woman to engage in prostitution. Massiah used physical and emotional abuse to force his victim to comply. Massiah then required the woman to give him the money received from the forced prostitution. Massiah fled the state with his victim after a warrant for his arrest was issued in Minnehaha County for physically assaulting his victim by strangulation on two separate occasions. Massiah was apprehended in Tennessee with his victim in August of 2022.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Sioux Falls Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey C. Clapper and Elizabeth A. Ebert prosecuted the case.
A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date has been set for June 17, 2024. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
AUGUST 2023:
A federal grand jury has indicted a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man for Sex Trafficking of an Adult by Force and Coercion.
Odarie Massiah, age 33, pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to life in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, up to life of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that between July 1, 2020, and August 8, 2022, Massiah knowingly and intentionally recruited an adult female into conducting commercial sex acts, and financially benefited from doing so.
The investigation is being conducted by the Sioux Falls Police Department and HSI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper is prosecuting the case.
Massiah was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
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