Additional sex trafficking charges filed against Pennsylvania man

PHILADELPHIA – A superseding indictment, filed in federal court Tuesday, charges an eastern Pennsylvania man with four additional charges for sex trafficking.

This indictment resulted from an on-going investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Allentown, Pennsylvania Police Department.

Corderro Cody, 27, of Allentown, has been charged on four additional counts — three additional counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, or attempt; and one count of sex trafficking of a minor.  The superseding indictment was filed in federal court May 14. Cody now faces a total of nine federal charges related to sex trafficking.

Cody was originally indicted on Oct. 30, 2014, on charges of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, four counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and conspiracy to transport individuals both intrastate and interstate for the purpose of prostitution. 

Court records allege that Cody recruited women to work as prostitutes, referred to his prostitution business as the “program,” and advertised the women on Backpage.com.  The indictment further alleges that women were sometimes driven to other states and forced to perform sexual acts; that Cody recovered and kept most, if not all, of the money generated by the sexual acts; and that he used physical force in the form of beatings when the women did not adhere to the “program,” to maintain control of the victims. 

If convicted, the Cody faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years to a maximum of life in prison; a fine of up to $2.5 million; a mandatory minimum of five years to lifetime of supervised release; and a $1,000 special assessment to the Crime Victims Fund.

An indictment is merely an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.