Tennessee: Split Verdict in Sex Trafficking Case

Tennessee: Split Verdict in Sex Trafficking Case By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: May 4, 2012 A federal jury in Tennessee delivered a split verdict on Friday against nine people, mostly Somali men, who were accused of operating a sex trafficking ring in three states. Three men were convicted, and six were acquitted. The defendants are among 30 who were indicted in the case, which spans from Minnesota to Ohio and Tennessee. The jury of six men and six women deliberated over five days this week before returning the verdict. Van Vincent, an assistant United States attorney, said the government would not stop prosecuting these cases. A Somali witness identified only as Jane Doe No. 2 testified that she was used as a prostitute by gang members starting at the age of 12. She cried in court as she described being taken to several apartments around suburban Minneapolis to have sex with Somali men for money, sometimes as little as $40. Idris Ibrahim Fahra, Andrew Kayachith and Yassin Abdirahman Yusuf were found guilty of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children by force, fraud or coercion.