On October 14, 2022, John Golom, 57, was sentenced to 33 years and 9 months in prison for sex trafficking. Additionally, Golom must pay over $300,000 in restitution and register as a sex offender after serving his sentence. Restitution is when a court, as part of a sentence, orders a defendant to compensate the victim for the damages suffered.
In 2017, police received a tip about a prostitution operation, which lead to the arrests of the two victims who were both charged with multiple counts of promoting prostitution and related offenses. Golom fled, but was ultimately found and arrested in February of 2018 for sex trafficking. Golom pleaded guilty to trafficking the two victims from 2014 to 2018. Golom used force, threat, and coercion to recruit the two victims for commercial sex work and, additionally, transported them between Pennsylvania and Florida. Golom also advertised the two victims on a website to sell sex. Golom engaged in violence, threats, and false promises toward the victims and trafficked them through a fake escort agency.
One of the victims reported that she met Golom when she was experiencing homelessness. Golom then began sexually exploiting the victim by advertising her for prostitution online. The victim reported that Golom threatened her and was violent. Golom recruited the second victim to engage in commercial sexual acts through an online advertisement for an escort agency. Golom kept all the money she earned. The second victim also reported that Golom raped her at least once and that Golom used her children as a means to manipulate her and to continue to exploit her.
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Mariani stated that Golom took advantage of his victims and that he knew at least one of the victims suffered from severe mental illness and was experiencing homelessness. Judge Mariani also found that Golom made false statements to the FBI and tried to tamper with the victims’ testimony in an attempt to obstruct justice.
U.S. Attorney Gerard Karam applauded the victims for coming forward and pursuing justice against Golom. U.S. Attorney Karam stated that, “The women who bravely came forward to hold this trafficker accountable made this successful prosecution possible,” and that “they are survivors, who, despite the horrific trauma they suffered at Golom’s hands for years, made it possible for justice to be done here.” The CSE Institute further applauds the two victims for their courage. It is without a doubt that survivor voices will be the ones to promulgate change in the sex trafficking narrative. The CSE Institute also commends the United States Attorney’s Office for seeking justice for the two victims.
The CSE Institute appreciates the work of Monroe County officials in investigating and arresting Golom. However, the CSE Institute encourages Monroe County officials to focus on arresting traffickers who profit from commercial sexual exploitation as opposed to trafficking victims. For law enforcement to fully protect the interests of victims like the ones in this case, they should opt to forgo charges related to a trafficking victims’ victimization and seek to support the victims instead.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.