GRAND RAPIDS – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced that Terrence Donte Clay, 39, of Grand Rapids, was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison for sex trafficking of a minor, exploitation sexual exploitation of a minor and distribution of child pornography. .

“Mr. Clay is a sexual predator who preyed on a minor victim, treated her as his property, ordered her to sell herself for sex, and showed no remorse for his actions,” Totten said. we are committed to fighting the scourge of human trafficking, including both sex and labor.I appreciate the investigative work of our law enforcement partners to bring Mr Clay and to ensure a measure of justice for the victim.”

Evidence presented at trial showed that Clay met the minor victim in a Grand Rapids city park in early October 2022. He had sexual relations with the victim multiple times and ordered her to have sex with other men for money. After securing the nude images of the minor victim, Clay advertised them online.

Police found the juvenile victim in a library and she was taken to a foster home in the Upper Peninsula while law enforcement began an investigation. Meanwhile, Clay located the minor victim and picked her up from her foster home on the morning of November 12, 2022, unbeknownst to the foster family. Shortly after crossing south of the Mackinac Bridge, law enforcement officers stopped the vehicle and found the juvenile victim in the car with the defendant.

“Our Human Trafficking Task Force continues to make progress in prosecutions and build relationships with victim service providers in the area to further improve Kent County’s response to sex and labor trafficking,” said Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young. “The impact these horrific crimes have on the victims and our community as a whole is not lost on us.”