Dennis Williams | U.S. Attorney’s Office
CHICAGO - A Chicago man was sentenced to nearly three decades in prison for "violently sex trafficking" five young victims.
What we know:
Dennis Williams, 33, used threats, violence, drugs and other forms of coercion to force the victims to engage in sex for money and surrender the proceeds to him, according to court records.
Prosecutors said Williams frequently restrained or assaulted the victims and compelled a 17-year-old girl to help him traffic others.
Williams operated the sex trafficking scheme from his Chicago residence and from motels in south suburban Lansing during 2022 and 2023.
On Aug. 2, 2022, he lured a victim inside his truck before abruptly driving away. She escaped by jumping from the moving vehicle.
On Jan. 10, 2023, Williams kidnapped another victim by keeping her in his closet overnight and then forcing her to have sex with strangers for money. After being confined to the closet overnight, she escaped by jumping out of a second-floor window and running a quarter-mile to a Chicago Public Library branch for help.
A federal jury in Chicago convicted Williams last year on seven counts related to sex trafficking and kidnapping. All five victims, including both kidnapping victims, testified during the trial.
Multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in the investigation, including Chicago police, the Cook County sheriff’s office and the Illinois State Police.
What they're saying:
"Williams’ crimes were violent, exploitative, and incredibly serious," Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sushma Raju and Michelle Parthum argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. "Although the young women and girls that he victimized are now free of defendant’s grasp, the harm that he inflicted on them is likely to reverberate throughout the rest of their lives in the form of increased risk of mental illness and other struggles."
The Source: The information in this report came from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinoisl.