Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte man and his co-conspirator were sentenced to prison today for sex trafficking a minor, announced Lawrence J. Cameron, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina joins Acting U.S. Attorney Cameron in making today’s announcement.
Tawaan Batten, 34, also known as “Slicc,” was sentenced to 34 years in prison followed by 30 years of supervised release. In December 2023, Batten was convicted at trial of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor, sex trafficking of a minor, and transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in commercial sexual activity. Batten’s co-conspirator, Kristi Heather King, 34, of Locust, N.C., was sentenced to 42 months in prison and a period of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor.
“Batten and his then-girlfriend preyed on a vulnerable child and repeatedly subjected her to physical and psychological harm for their profit,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Cameron. “Today’s sentence sends a clear message: federal prosecutors and law enforcement are committed to ensuring that sex traffickers will face the full force of justice.”
“It is difficult to fathom that someone would sell a child for sex. But that is exactly what Batten and King did and now both of them will do federal prison for their crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge DeWitt. “The FBI works tirelessly to hold accountable those who carry out crimes against children, and we devote significant resources to help sex trafficking victims recover from the trauma they suffer.”
According to evidence presented at Batten’s trial, witness testimony, and court documents, from July 2021 to December 2021, Batten, at times assisted by King, sex trafficked a 15-year-old minor victim. Batten met the minor victim, who had run away from her home, in a hotel parking lot in Charlotte. Batten then introduced the minor victim to King, who was Batten’s girlfriend at the time. The minor victim began engaging in commercial sex transactions shortly after meeting Batten.
Trial evidence showed that Batten, at times assisted by King, created and posted advertisements of the minor victim on commercial sex websites and arranged for the minor victim to engage in sexual encounters with customers, usually multiple times a day. Most of these encounters took place in hotel rooms booked by Batten in North Carolina and South Carolina. Other times, Batten and King drove the minor victim to a customer’s location to engage in commercial sex. Batten kept the money the victim earned from these commercial sexual encounters and continued to have the victim work even when she was not feeling well.
According to testimony and evidence at Batten’s trial, Batten gave the minor victim drugs. Batten also controlled the minor victim through intimidation and manipulation, including branding the minor victim with tattoos. Batten also physically assaulted King multiple times.
Batten remains in federal custody pending placement to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
In making today’s announcement, Acting U.S. Attorney Cameron commended the FBI for leading this investigation and thanked the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for their invaluable assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Spaugh and Daniel Cervantes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
If you are the victim of human trafficking or may have information about a potential trafficking situation, please call the FBI, local law enforcement, or 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.