Minnesota man sentenced to 23½ years for sex trafficking across state lines

MINNEAPOLIS — A suburban Twin Cities man was sentenced to 23 ½ years in federal prison following his conviction for sex trafficking women across state lines.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI, the Duluth (Minnesota) Police Department, and the St. Louis County (Minnesota) Sheriff’s Office.

Rahmad Lashad Geddes, aka “Face,” aka “Poo Poo,” 36,  from Blaine, Minnesota, was sentenced to 282 months in federal prison after being convicted of the following charges:  on one count of sex trafficking, one count of transportation with intent to engage in prostitution, and one count of being a career criminal in possession of a firearm.

Geddes was charged in an April 8 superseding indictment and was convicted April 27 following a six-day jury trial.

“This violent defendant preyed on the vulnerabilities of his victim and used force and coercion to sell her for commercial sex,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Provinzino. “The lengthy sentence handed down by the court underscores the seriousness of these types of crimes, which we will continue to combat through aggressive prosecution.”

As proven at trial, on Jan. 6, 2014, Geddes recruited the victim from her home in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for the purpose of trafficking her for commercial sex.  Geddes and a friend took the victim to a motel in Duluth, Minnesota, where they took pictures of her to place an ad for commercial sex on Backpage.com. Geddes used an anonymous prepaid credit card to pay for the online ad. Geddes and his friend used the victim’s cell phone to set up several “dates” between the victim and johns.  On one occasion, after a meeting with a john, Geddes accused the victim of hiding money. The defendant physically assaulted the victim and told her that he hit her because she did not do what she was told.

According to court records, on Jan. 9, 2014, Geddes traded drugs, which he referred to as “rocks,” for two semi-automatic pistols and ammunition. Geddes has four previous felony convictions in Cook County, Illinois, and in Hennepin and Sherburne counties in Minnesota, making him an armed career criminal under federal law.

On Jan. 14, 2014, Geddes returned the victim to her home. She immediately reported to her pastor that she “had been used for prostitution.”