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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For further information contact:
Public Information Officer
Kenneth.Gales@usdoj.gov
(414) 297-1700
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