Two Prattville Men Indicted on Sex Trafficking Charges
Two Prattville Alabama men have been arrested and charged with crimes related to sex trafficking of a minor, announced Acting U.S. Attorney A. Clark Morris of the Middle District of Alabama, and Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Michael Graham Lowe, 24, and Joshua David Rose, 28, both of Prattville, Alabama, were charged in an indictment returned on April 26, by a federal grand jury with one count each of sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor. Lowe was arrested Monday, May 1, and Rose has been in custody since August 5, 2016 on related state charges.
According to court documents, in June 2016, Rose and Lowe conspired to recruit, entice and transport a minor victim for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts.
The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If convicted of the charges, both defendants face a sentence of 10 years to life in prison and a fine up to $250,000.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Prattville Police Department are investigating the case with assistance from the Montgomery Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hollie Reed of the Middle District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Leslie Williams Fisher of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
