GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A man learned he'll spend nearly three decades behind bars for his role in a sex trafficking and child exploitation operation in Grand Rapids, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan says.
Torey Franklin, 29, was convicted on several charges, including sex trafficking a child, sexual exploitation of a child and receipt of child pornography. He pleaded guilty in December 2023, and a grand jury indicted him in August.
He was sentenced to 26 years on Tuesday.
“Torey Franklin’s crime – trafficking a minor for sex – was heinous,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “Human trafficking of any kind – for sex or for labor, of children and of adults – is a scourge. We are fully committed to protecting survivors and holding traffickers accountable for their crimes.”
Franklin became the subject of an investigation in 2022 when he unknowingly offered the "services" of an underaged girl to an undercover detective from the Kent County Sheriff's Office.
Detectives discovered the operation when they saw an "advertisement" for the girl, who was 17, on an adult dating website. They arranged a "date" with the victim, and arrested Franklin at the chosen site.
Investigators say Franklin had been trafficking the victim for weeks. He would post ads for the victim, negotiate price and sexual acts with prospective customers and transport the girl to multiple locations. Afterwards, he would be paid through a money transfer app.
Federal prosecutors also say Franklin produced, received and distributed child pornography as part of his trafficking business.
The girl was safely returned to her guardian after Franklin's arrest.
“For FBI Michigan, the work does not end here, and we will continue to focus our efforts on protecting our children," said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan, in part.
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