(WTAQ-WLUK) — A Waukesha man convicted of sex trafficking charges will spend three decades in prison, a judge decided Tuesday.
35-year-old Cornelius Jackson was found guilty in November of four counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, along with one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking.
Evidence presented at trial stated that from 2014 to 2020, Jackson recruited victims using dating apps and social media. He then “used force, threats of force, fraud and coercion to compel female victims to engage in commercial sex acts in cities and states across the country.”
Officials say the acts took place in Waukesha, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Minnesota, North Dakota and Ohio. Victims testified that Jackson kept and controlled all of the money they made, used violence to ensure they complied with his demands and strangled them.
In announcing the sentence, United States District Judge Brett Ludwig emphasized that it is “hard to overstate the seriousness” of Jackson’s conduct, describing how Jackson had “manipulated, used violence, and coerced many young women to sell their bodies for the sexual gratification of others” over a period of six years. Judge Ludwig recounted the “mental and physical torture” that Jackson to which subjected his victims, including strangling several of his victims on multiple occasions. He also noted that Jackson’s “real failure to come to grips” with the gravity of his crimes or to take any meaningful responsibility, even at the sentencing hearing, impacted the Court’s sentencing decision.
Jackson’s 30-year sentence will be followed by 10 years of supervised release.
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