Federal Jury Finds Milwaukee Man Guilty of Sex Trafficking

News Release from US DoJ, June 24, 2021

Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on June 22, 2021, Calvin C. Freeman, Jr., was convicted of sex trafficking and related offenses following a federal jury trial in Milwaukee. The crimes of which Freeman was convicted include:

· Conspiracy to Engage in Sex Trafficking
· Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion (two counts)
· Interstate Transportation for Prostitution (three counts)
· Interstate Transportation of a Minor for Criminal Sexual Activity
· Possession of a Firearm/Ammunition by a Felon (two counts)
· Obstruction of Sex Trafficking Enforcement (two counts)
· Contempt of Court (three counts)

The evidence presented at trial established that Freeman used force, threats of force, fraud, and coercion to compel female victims to engage in commercial sex acts in cities across the country, including Milwaukee, Chicago, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Miami, as well as in parts of Southern California and Hawaii. One of the victims was a minor at the time Freeman transported her for this purpose.

The victims testified that Freeman kept and controlled all of the money they made, whipping them with belts, threatening them with guns, and subjecting them to dehumanizing punishments, such as forcible sodomy and smearing human feces in one victim’s face when she failed to comply with his demands. The evidence also established that Freeman repeatedly urged victims and witnesses not to speak to federal agents or to comply with court orders, including while Freeman was in jail and subject to a no-contact order that had been entered by a federal judge.

Freeman is scheduled to be sentenced on October 4, 2021, by Chief United States District Court Judge Pamela Pepper. Freeman faces a maximum life term of imprisonment and a mandatory minimum of 15 years of imprisonment.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Milwaukee Police Department, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General investigated the case with the assistance of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Erica J. Lounsberry and Julie F. Stewart prosecuted the case.  

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HNN: Authorities said Freeman brought the victims to Hawaii in August 2015 to celebrate his birthday and demanded they work for him during the trip. Officials said he “demanded that they work the local bars and clubs all night, soliciting commercial sex dates and stealing luxury watches from their johns or ‘tricks.’”