A 15-year-old girl was forced into prostitution in NC. Two sentenced in trafficking case.

Five months after a 35-year-old Wilson County man was convicted of forcing a 15-year-old girl into prostitution at a Mexican migrant camp near Wilson, two others involved with the sex trafficking case were sentenced.

A federal judge handed down sentences on Thursday to Bobby Ray Williams Jr., a 41-year-old from Stantonsburg, and Temeeka Neshaune Honey, 40, of Wilson.

The case stems from an arrest on June 7, 2016, when law enforcement officers accused William Maurice Saddler of forcing a teenage girl he had been involved with to perform sexual acts with numerous men from April 2014 to November 2015.

Last year, in late November, Saddler was convicted of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion of a minor, according to Robert Higdon Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Prosecutors contended that Saddler gave the girl crack cocaine then took her to the migrant camps where they collected money for forcing her into prostitution.

"Among other tactics, Saddler used violence, fear and manipulation to force the victim to continue prostituting to support Saddler’s crack cocaine habit," a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office in the Eastern District of North Carolina states.

Williams, the younger brother of Saddler, was arrested and charged after the Wilson County sheriff's office raided Saddler's home. Williams pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of a minor and aiding and abetting. He was sentenced on Thursday to 15 years in prison to be followed by 10 years of parole.

Honey, who prosecutors say was Saddler's girlfriend, assisted in the scheme, they say, by driving the teen around to various migrant camps. She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor. On Thursday, she was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.

Both will be required to register as sex offenders.

Saddler is set to be sentenced on June 5.

“The sentences imposed," Higdon said in a statement, "send a clear message that we will not tolerate the trafficking of humans — here a 15 year young girl — in the Eastern District of North Carolina. This horrible victimization of this young woman is beyond despicable and really is among the worst offenses our law addresses. Human trafficking – on an individual level – or on a larger scale plagues our country and debases us as a people."

This story was originally published April 5, 2018 at 4:56 PM with the headline "A 15-year-old girl was forced into prostitution in NC. Two sentenced in trafficking case.."