Four Men Indicted for Trafficking Young Women & Girls for Sex

Nevada man is charged with Sex Trafficking Resulting in Death stemming from murder of 18 year old girl by a rival pimp PHOENIX - Federal agents have arrested the last of four men facing federal charges for trafficking young women and girls for sex. The four men had a role in luring young women and girls in the Phoenix area into prostitution, and were complicit in forcing and coercing them to continue to engage in acts of prostitution. In the course of their victimization, the women and girls were beaten and menaced to keep them intimidated and enslaved. According to one of the charges in the five count indictment unsealed yesterday, one of the traffickers placed an 18 year-old girl in a prostitution related circumstance where she was ultimately brutally murdered by a rival pimp. The United States District Court, District of Arizona, unsealed a five count indictment against: Jacob Heckstall, 39, of Phoenix, Arizona; George Calvin Windley, 31, of Las Vegas, Nevada; Muttaqui Windley, 28, of Phoenix, Arizona; and Michael Lazar, 42, of Scottsdale, Arizona. All four defendants were charged with violation of Conspiring to Commit Sex Trafficking Through Force, Fraud or Coercion, Sex Trafficking of a Minor, and two counts of Sex Trafficking Through Force, Fraud or Coercion. George Calvin Windley was charged with one additional Count of Trafficking with Respect to Peonage, Slavery, Involuntary Servitude, or ForcedResulting in Death. Muttaqui Windley was arrested by the FBI in Phoenix on August 25, 2010. George Calvin Windley was arrested in Las Vegas on June 4, 2010. Lazar was arrested on June 13, 2010 in San Francisco. Heckstall is serving a state sentence on unrelated charges in an Arizona prison. The young women and girls that are enslaved into prostitution are daughters, sisters, and even mothers, said Nathan Gray, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Phoenix Division. This type of criminal activity strikes at the core of our society especially when there is a tragic loss of life of a 17 year-old girl. The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to investigating and prosecuting those who engage in trafficking young women and girls for the purpose of prostitution. The indictment alleges that from at least September 2008 until October 2009, the four defendants organized and operated a prostitution business where they sold the commercial sexual services of young women in exchange for profit, often advertising online. Jacob Heckstall and George Windley lured these women and girls into prostitution with the promise of extravagant lifestyles, jewelry material goods and money. Once the young women and girls had been recruited, Heckstall and Windley menaced, physically intimidated, coerced, threatened violence against family members, and used physical violence both to compel the women and girls to engage in prostitution, and to prevent the young women girls, from leaving the business. In September 2008, Jacob Heckstall and George Windley recruited a 17 year-old juvenile for purposes of prostitution. In October 2008, they later recruited an 18 year-old adult female for purposes of prostitution. Muttaqui Windley assisted with the business by driving the women to their out calls by providing protection, and by aiding in other aspects of the prostitution business. Michael Lazar participated in the conspiracy by producing fabricated credit cards using stolen identity and credit information. Michael Lazar, Jacob Heckstall, George Windley and Muttaqui Windely then used these fabricated credit cards to both recruit new victims and to generally support the sex trafficking conspiracy. The defendants also used the Internet as a way of promoting the services offered by purchasing online advertising for escort services on various internet websites including www.craigslist.com and www.backpage.com. On July 28, 2009, in his role as her pimp, George Windley took an 18 year-old victim, and another young woman to a call-out in Scottsdale, Arizona. This call out was a ruse intended by a rival pimp to locate and murder George Windley. Rather than murder Windley, this rival pimp ultimately murdered George Windleys 18 year-old trafficking victim. The victim had recently turned 18. Had Windley not coerced and forced this victim into engaging in sex acts, and knowingly placed her in dangerous circumstances, she never would have been the victim of this brutal murder. The victims body was found the following day dumped in front of a home in North Scottsdale. The rival pimp, Brian Black, is currently under indictment for First Degree Murder in the Maricopa County Superior Court. A conviction for Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking Through Force, Fraud or Coercion carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. A Conviction for Sex Trafficking Through Force, Fraud or Coercion carries the same penalties. A conviction for Sex Trafficking of a Minor carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a mandatory minium of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. Finally, a conviction for Trafficking with Respect to Peonage, Slavery, Involuntary Servitude, or ForcedResulting in Death carries a penalty of up to life in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. In determining an actual sentence, the assigned District Court Judge, Judge Campbell, will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. Judge Campbell, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence. An indictment is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (the Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Francisco offices), the Scottsdale and Phoenix Police Departments, the Las Vegas Police Department, and the San Francisco Police Department.