SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield man and woman were sentenced in federal court today for the sex trafficking of a child.
Joseph W. Gibson, 43, and Danna Marie Rodriguez, 37, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes. Gibson was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison without parole, followed by 25 years of supervised release. Rodriguez was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole, followed by 25 years of supervised release.
Gibson and Rodriguez each pleaded guilty to one count of the sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of the sex trafficking of a minor.
Gibson and Rodriguez admitted they sex trafficked a 15-year-old female, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe 1.” They also asked the child victim to recruit some of her friends to participate, but her friends refused to be involved.
Rodriguez took sexually explicit photos of Jane Doe 1, which she sent to Gibson. Gibson and Rodriguez gave ecstasy and marijuana to the child victim prior to her meeting an unidentified man for sex at a local hotel, for which the child victim was paid $70. Gibson and Rodriguez kept the rest of the payment.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, and the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”