Atlanta man sentenced for sex trafficking toddler, producing child pornography

JACKSON, Miss. – An Atlanta man was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison Thursday for human trafficking and child pornography charges after he traveled to Mississippi, had sex with a 4-year-old girl and videotaped the abuse. The sentencing follows an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Cambridge, Mass., police department.

Marco Laquin Rogers, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Bramlette III to 40 years on the human trafficking charge. An additional 30 year prison sentence for child pornography production will run concurrently. Rogers was convicted Sept. 11 on charges that he traveled to a Jackson hotel in May 2012 to have sex with a child and videotape the abuse.

"The horrific abuse inflicted upon a defenseless child in this case is unspeakable, and yet this individual went even further by recording and sharing the evidence of his sexual crimes," said HSI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr. "Predators destroy lives, and HSI will continue to do everything it can to protect children by investigating and seeking prosecution wherever these criminals may be found."

Parmer oversees a five-state region including Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee.

Co-defendant Jemery Atral Hodges, 26, of Cambridge, Mass., pleaded guilty to the same charges June 20. Hodges was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison earlier this year. Both men were indicted in November 2012 for having sex with the child after Hodges showed another man child pornography images on his phone in Massachusetts, and that man reported it to local police.

Cambridge police subsequently contacted HSI Atlanta and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, who worked in coordination with HSI Jackson to investigate, which ultimately led to the identification and rescue of the child victim.

"Today’s sentence brings to a close a horrific chapter in the lives of the victim and her family," said Southern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis. "While nothing can ever undo the abuse the victim endured, we hope that today’s sentence requiring the defendant to spend 40 years in prison restores them with some sense of confidence and trust, and satisfaction that justice has been served."

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. 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, 1-800-843-5678.

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.