Jackson, Miss. – A Memphis man pled guilty to sex trafficking of a minor and interstate sex trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca, Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch.
Wayne Edwards Settles, 30, pled guilting on October 25, 2022, in U.S. District Court in Jackson.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Wayne Edwards Settles, 30, was actively involved with the sex trafficking of a minor and an adult whom he transported from Louisiana to Mississippi to perform commercial sex acts in August and September 2020.
Settles will be sentenced on February 7, 2023, and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, and the Richland Police Department investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Purdie is prosecuting the case.