Denton Man Convicted Of Trafficking 17-Year-Old Girl; Faces Up To Life In Prison
DENTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A Denton man has been convicted of child sex trafficking.
Following a day-long trial, a federal jury Tuesday night returned a guilty verdict against William Adam Jonathan Smith, convicting him of one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor and one count of sex trafficking of a minor, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox announced in a news release Wednesday.
According to evidence presented at court, Smith met and befriended the 17-year-old victim in the summer of 2019.
He introduced her to Charity Cantu, his longtime girlfriend, who worked for him as a prostitute.
Smith told Cantu that she was to groom and train the victim to make money for him providing commercial sex services.
From August thru October 2019, the victim accompanied Cantu to hotels in the Dallas and Fort Worth areas and engaged in commercial sex acts.
All of the proceeds from the commercial sex acts performed by the victim were given to Smith.
Smith, 31, now faces up to life in federal prison. His sentencing is set for January in Fort Worth.
Cantu, 25, pleaded guilty in March to a racketeering charge.
In court documents, she admitted that although she knew the victim was a minor, Cantu groomed the girl for commercial sex and posted ads for her sexual services online.
Cantu testified at Smith's trial.
