CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Dajuan Akeem Blair, 26, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 151 months in prison today for sex trafficking of a minor, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison term imposed, Blair was also ordered to serve a lifetime under court supervision and to register as a sex offender.
Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to filed documents and statements made at today’s sentencing hearing, Blair was convicted of causing a minor female to engage in prostitution. The victim was a 16-year-old runaway, and she was introduced to Blair by a mutual friend, also a teenager, who had previously dated the defendant. Blair knew that both females were minors. According to court records, on December 26, 2018, Blair rented a motel room in Charlotte, where he took pictures of the minors and used the pictures to advertise the minors for sex online. Over the next two days, Blair arranged sexual encounters for the minors and set the prices for those encounters. Court records show that Blair took a portion of the minor victim’s earnings from the commercial sex.
“Blair trafficked two underage girls and used them like commodities to be traded for his gain,” said U.S. Attorney King. “Let it be known that severe consequences befall those who engage in this reprehensible conduct,” said U.S. Attorney King.
“Blair lied to his young victims from the very start, he robbed them of their civil rights to make a profit, but now he will pay the price. There is no way of knowing the long term psychological damage caused to these victims. The FBI devotes significant resources to help sex trafficking victims recover from the trauma they suffer,” said Special Agent in Charge Wells.
“The defendant’s heinous predatory behavior is deserving of a lengthy prison sentence to ensure he cannot inflict further harm on other victims,” said Special Agent in Charge Martinez. “HSI is appreciative of the collaborative efforts of CMPD, FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force for its work with HSI on this investigation.”
Blair is currently in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
The investigation was handled by the FBI, HSI and CMPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Lindahl of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
If you are the victim of a human trafficking or may have information about a potential trafficking situation, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) at 1-888-373-7888. NHTRC is a national, toll-free hotline, with specialists available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year related to potential trafficking victims, suspicious behaviors, and/or locations where trafficking is suspected to occur. To submit a tip to the NHTRC online please visit https://humantraffickinghotline.org/report-trafficking.
You can also contact Homeland Security Investigations at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or the Charlotte Office of the FBI at 704-672-6100.