SALT LAKE CITY July 18, 2016 – This week the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) announced the sentencing of Charles Daryl Kelley for Attempted Human Trafficking.
“Whether it is one case or dozens, we want human traffickers and anyone who abuses men, women, or children to know that the Utah Attorney General’s Office investigators and prosecutors will pursue them aggressively,” said Attorney General Reyes. “We appreciate the support of Utah’s communities in combating this evil and encourage anyone who has information regarding suspicious conduct to report it to law enforcement immediately.”
In conjunction with the SECURE Strike Force, the AGO prosecuted and convicted Kelley of Attempted Human Trafficking for attempting to recruit a 15-year-old girl to work in a commercial sex operation. Kelley traveled to Utah from Nevada with two adult women in order to profit from commercial sex at a motel in Midvale. While engaged in that business, in an attempt to recruit a local Utah teenager to work for him he approached a girl in a parking lot and asked if she wanted to “make some money.” Although he did not specify what he meant by this, investigators found substantial evidence that Kelley was engaged in a commercial sex operation at the motel. The child and her mother reported Kelley’s question before it could go any further, and Kelley was arrested.
Kelley’s conviction for attempting to recruit this child to commercial sex work reflects the position of the AGO and the SECURE Strike Force that even an attempt to obtain a child for commercial sex in Utah will result in arrest and prosecution to the full extent of the law.
Kelley will serve one year in custody and three years of supervised probation, a sentence consistent with his conduct in this case. Attempted Human Trafficking is a 2nd Degree Felony that carries a prison term of 1-15 years. The AGO agreed to recommend a sentence equal to the low-end of this term because Kelley did not succeed in obtaining the 15-year-old for commercial sex, but only solicited the child. Further, the plea will avoid re-traumatizing the child victim by bringing her into the court process. If Kelley unsuccessfully completes probation, the full 1-15 year prison term can be imposed by the court.
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