On October 29th, the Shores News Network reported that the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced that Kashamba John, 32, of Atlanta, GA, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, 10 years supervised release, required to pay restitution in amount of $23,299, and ordered to register as a sex offender by United States District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno. Kashamba John was charged with running a national sex trafficking ring, in which he and others forced vulnerable women and girls to travel and be trafficked in multiple states.
In May 2019, the defendant was convicted after trial of conspiring to commit sex trafficking by fraud, force, or coercion; and transporting individuals by interstate commerce with the intent that the individual engage in prostitution. Unfortunately, between July 2011 and October 2016, John ran a national sex trafficking ring, selling women and girls in Pennsylvania, California, Georgia, North Carolina, and elsewhere. While, not working alone, John and his network of traffickers targeted under-aged runaways, and women battling substance abuse disorder in order to manipulate them into commercial sexual exploitation. One of John’s victims was ultimately recovered by authorities in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania after the driver of the Uber flagged down a state police officer on the side of the road. Two other victims of the defendant were teenagers at the time John trafficked them by force.
As stated by US Attorney McSwain, “The defendant’s actions in this case were thoroughly vile and disgusting…. sadly, sex trafficking is a scourge that still plagues communities all across the United States, including right here in Philadelphia. Today’s sentencing of Mr. John sends a strong message that this form of violent modern day sex slavery will not be tolerated.”
The success of this case would not have been possible without the efforts of all agencies involved, including the Lower Merion Police Department, The Pennsylvania State Police, The Office of the Attorney General, and the Uber driver who realized the victim was in harm. Therefore, we encourage HSI Philadelphia and our law enforcement to continue to be at the forefront of the fight to end all forms of human trafficking and prosecute the traffickers and sex buyers who drive the demand for commercial sex. The CSE Institute will continue to monitor this situation with the hopes that the co-conspirators of Kashamba John will be targeted and prosecuted.