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On Monday, Franshon Stapleton pleaded guilty to 16 counts of sex trafficking and related charges of young women in the central Illinois area from 2016 until May 2018, when he was taken into custody.
Stapleton recruited women Champaign, Sangamon, and Peoria counties through manipulation and exploitation of vulnerabilities such as addictions and homelessness, and then forced them to perform sexual acts through threats and violence.
The 47-year-old is facing 15 years to life for each of the 4 sex trafficking counts and up to 5 years each for the 11 counts of use of a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise.
U.S. Attorney John Milhiser praised the survivors for coming forward, sharing their stories, and providing evidence against Stapleton.
Sentencing will be held on January 29, 2021. Until then, Stapleton is being held in an undisclosed area jail.
Source: SJR
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