Houston-based rapper Jacorey Nathaniel Anderson, also known as Slando Kareem, has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of sex trafficking three minors and an adult. The verdict followed a five-day trial that concluded on April 19 and required less than two hours of deliberation by a federal jury, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner imposed the life sentence, noting Anderson's conscious actions in trafficking the teenage girls, two of whom were only 15 years old. In court, a minor victim expressed how Anderson's criminal actions robbed her of her childhood and severely damaged her relationships.
In their efforts to remove violent traffickers from the streets, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) played a crucial role in Anderson’s case. According to acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Dallas, Travis Pickard, "The victims' this defendant abused can now began their process of healing with this criminal behind bars for the remainder of his life," as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Disturbingly, the jury viewed two of Anderson's rap videos, in one of which a female victim is shown bound and gagged, assaulted physically by Anderson. These videos served to corroborate the claims made against him. Evidence presented at the trial indicated that Anderson had baited his victims through social media and text messages to come to the Austin area from Houston. Co-conspirators Lelonnie Stephon Jackson and Thomas Jarrett Barraza, who have since faced their own legal repercussions, assisted Anderson in transporting and managing the victims for the purposes of commercial sex.
Anderson's arrest occurred in Dallas following a sting operation where he attempted to traffic what he believed was a minor but was, in fact, an undercover officer. This led to an investigation into his phone records, uncovering the identities of the minor victims. Jackson received a 60-month prison sentence for his involvement, while Barraza is currently on bond awaiting sentencing scheduled for November 12. The investigation that captured Anderson was a multifaceted operation, involving numerous agencies and entities within the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA), according to the same press release.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sherri L. Zack and Kimberly A. Leo.
