A Bit of Good News...

U.S. Department of Justice

United States Attorney

Southern District of Florida

99 N.E. 4 Street,

Miami, FL 33132

February 9, 2010

NEWS RELEASE:

HAWAII MAN CHARGED WITH SEX-TRAFFICKING

OF A MINOR OVER SUPER BOWL WEEKEND

Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, announced that Fred Quinton Collins, of Hawaii, was charged in a criminal complaint with transporting and causing a minor to engage in commercial sex acts, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591(a). If convicted, Collins faces a minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment and a maximum sentence life imprisonment.

Collins made his initial appearance in federal court yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Chris M. McAliley, and was detained pending a pre-trial detention hearing. The pre-trial detention hearing has been scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 11, 2010.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, on February 7, 2010, state, local and federal law enforcement officers with the South Florida Minor Vice Task Force responded to information regarding suspected prostitution activity at a hotel located in Miami Beach, FL. At the hotel, law enforcement encountered defendant Collins and three females, including the minor victim. Subsequent investigation revealed that Collins brought the victim with him from Hawaii to Miami, for the victim to engage in prostitution in South Florida over Super Bowl weekend. Collins allegedly booked the victim’s travel under a false name, paid for the victim’s airfare and hotel lodging, and supervised and directed the victim’s prostitution activities.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.

Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the South Florida Minor Vice Task Force, comprised of officers and agents from the City of Miami Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department, City of Miami Beach Police Department, Broward Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean T. McLaughlin.

A complaint is only an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.