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Former Hartford Man Sentenced for Sex Trafficking of 5 Minors

A former Hartford, Connecticut resident has been sentenced to ten and a half years in prison for recruiting five children for sex trafficking, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Wellington “Jamal” Brown, 26, a Jamaican citizen who lived in Hartford, is accused of luring five children into prostitution between June 2013 and February 2014, according to the release.

Police said Brown and Sheena Dume were involved in the scheme together.

Brown drove expensive vehicles, showed  the victims jewelry and cash and lured them with the idea of making a lot of money, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. He also recruited some of the victims with the fake prospect of a modeling career.

Brown took pictures of the children and used them to advertise prostitution services on websites such as backpage.com, officials said.

He rented hotel rooms, provided transportation and condoms, bought food for the victims and sometimes gave them marijuana.

The victims engaged in prostitution at various hotels in Stratford and Milford and gave Brown tens of thousands of dollars, receiving only a small portion of the money people paid them, officials said.

“This defendant recruited and manipulated vulnerable young girls luring them into the cruel world of sex trafficking,” U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly said in a statement. “He exploited these girls for months, having them commit sex acts for money, and keeping most all of the profits for himself.”

Brown and Dume were arrested in Maryland on July 30, 2014. 

On March 26, 2015, Brown pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor, and five counts of sex trafficking of a minor.  He has been detained since his arrest and was sentenced to 126 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release.

He also faces immigration proceedings after he serves his prison term.

On Feb. 18, 2015, Dume pleaded guilty to the same six offenses. She had not yet been sentenced.

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