Sex Trafficking Ring Leader Gets 54 Years

0:00It's March 20th, here's your Birmingham news in two minutes. Five people, including a father and son from Montgomery, Alabama, just got federal prison sentences for running a sex trafficking ring. The leader, 32-year-old Camani Jones, drew 54 years and must pay over $1 million in restitution. His 50-year-old father, Tremaine Lambert, got 30 years and owes more than $500,000. Two others, Joseph Boe and Daryl Gardner, received nearly 20 years and 16 years respectively. The operation forced seven victims, including two minors, into commercial sex acts over four years. Jones moved some across state lines for prostitution, while his father enforced rules and washed over the victims. Three others had pleaded guilty earlier for their parts in the scheme. Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin Davidson called it a predatory enterprise that exploited vulnerable people for profit. He said the sentences bring justice to survivors and warned others that traffickers will face tough pursuit from federal and local partners.

1:02Trial evidence show Jones ran everything, from booking hotel rooms and posting online ads to setting daily earning quotas and supplying drugs. He lived off the victim's money without a real job and often bragged about it on social media. Multiple agencies, including Homeland Security and local police, built the case leading to these convictions. This crackdown highlights the ongoing fight against human trafficking right here in the heart of the South.