A Mount Vernon man has been sentenced to 13 years and 4 months in prison for his role in sex trafficking a minor. Rai Thomas, also known as “Bandz,” was convicted in October 2025, and U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román handed down the sentence yesterday, February 13, as announced by United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton. The news comes as a grim reminder of the ongoing battle against human trafficking in New York.
According to a report by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Thomas, who is 31, was involved in the trafficking of Minor Victim-1 between January and February 2022. The victim had been residing in a children's group home when Thomas coerced, and exploited her for commercial sex across various hotels in the Bronx, and Brooklyn. "Rai Thomas preyed on a child for profit, advertising her to strangers on the internet and selling her for sex again and again so he could enrich himself," Jay Clayton said in a statement.
The investigation, praised by Clayton for its thoroughness, was a collaborative effort among the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force, the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department, the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, and the New York City Police Department. Following the prison term, Thomas will also be subject to five years of supervised release, adding another layer to the consequences of his actions.
Thomas' tactics included enticing the underage girl into prostitution, organizing her transportation, reserving hotel rooms for the illicit activities, and advertising her services online to potential customers. In the wake of their investigation, law enforcement officials have dismantled one more node in the extensive network of sex trafficking that preys on the vulnerable. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Qais Ghafary, Kaiya Arroyo, and Jorja Knauer, with Paralegal Specialists Gabriela Salerno, Samantha Olsen, and Shannon Becker providing additional assistance.
