CHICAGO — A federal jury today convicted a Chicago man on sex trafficking charges for recruiting several children to engage in sex acts for money.
The jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago convicted LENNIE PERRY, 47, on all seven counts of sex trafficking. The conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison, and a maximum of life. U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber did not immediately set a sentencing date. A status hearing was scheduled for Jan. 12, 2022, at 9:30 a.m.
The conviction was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The case was investigated by the FBI Chicago Child Exploitation Task Force. Valuable assistance was provided by the Chicago Police Department and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles Mulaney and Kelly Guzman.
According to evidence presented at the week-long trial, Perry trafficked seven minors under the age of 18. One of his victims was under 14 years old when Perry caused her to engage in a commercial sex act. Perry used websites such as Backpage and Facebook to advertise commercial sex acts and recruit the young victims to work for him. Perry also required that each of his victims have sex with him before he would traffic them to others.
Perry arranged for the victims to meet individuals for the commercial sex acts in hotels and the individuals’ homes in Illinois, Minnesota, and Mississippi. Six of Perry’s victims testified at trial about their ordeals.
If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by calling 1-800-843-5678 or logging on to www.cybertipline.com.
