A man prosecutors describe as a leader of a Seattle street gang and one of his alleged associates are now facing sweeping federal sex-trafficking charges that span multiple states and even other countries. Leanthony Palmer, 34, and Branden Barnett, 38, are named in separate federal indictments that include sex trafficking, transporting victims for prostitution and, for Palmer, money-laundering counts. Prosecutors say the pair controlled women through violence, drugs and by withholding basic necessities like food and shelter. If convicted, they could be looking at prison sentences stretching into decades.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington, a federal grand jury this week returned a superseding nine-count indictment against Palmer and a separate six-count indictment against Barnett. The superseding indictment alleges Palmer used force, threats, fraud and coercion to traffic at least three adult victims while conspiring to move them across multiple U.S. states and foreign countries. The U.S. Attorney's Office says Barnett has been in state custody since Nov. 24, 2025, and is now federally charged on counts that include attempted sex trafficking of a minor. Prosecutors also say Palmer is charged with conspiring to launder proceeds from the trafficking scheme.
How prosecutors say the ring worked
The indictments describe a brutal business model in which traffickers allegedly "purchased" women from other traffickers, used off-the-books rooms at a SeaTac motel to seclude victims or host sex "dates," and required the women to turn over every dollar they earned. Court documents further allege that traffickers secured fraudulent identification documents so victims could travel and used false identities to obtain rental properties and rental cars that kept the operation moving. Those operational details were outlined by KIRO 7 News Seattle, which reviewed the federal filings.
Federal and local partners worked the case
The U.S. Attorney's Office says the investigation drew on a long roster of agencies, including the King County Sheriff's Office, the Seattle Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the DEA, the FBI and the Whatcom Regional Drug Task Force. "These men exploited vulnerable women for their own financial gain," First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said in the U.S. Attorney's Office statement. King County officials publicly praised SeaTac police, and the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office says two co-defendants connected to Barnett have been charged in Superior Court as the multiagency probe continues.
Why Aurora and SeaTac matter
Survivors and service providers say Aurora Avenue's long strip of budget motels, combined with easy transit access and deeply entrenched poverty, has made the corridor, along with nearby SeaTac, a recurring hub for commercial sexual exploitation. Reporting by Seattle Met traces how those conditions create openings traffickers can exploit, and advocates say the fentanyl crisis plus gaps in shelter and services have only increased vulnerability. Local reporting also notes that prosecutors have charged additional co-defendants in King County Superior Court tied to the broader probe, according to KIRO 7 News Seattle.
Legal implications
Under federal law, sex-trafficking crimes that involve force, fraud or coercion can carry a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and up to life, penalties set out in 18 U.S.C. § 1591. Attempted trafficking of a minor and related transport and laundering counts add even more potential federal exposure if the defendants are convicted. For now, the charges are only allegations, and Palmer and Barnett are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in court.
Barnett, currently in state custody, is expected to be moved into the federal system for his federal case, while Palmer proceeds under the newly returned superseding indictment. Investigators say the probe is ongoing and continue to ask anyone with information to contact the U.S. Attorney's Office or local law-enforcement agencies as the cases move forward.
