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Man gets 4 years for sex trafficking
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Posted on Dec 06 2006
The federal court has imposed a four-year-and-nine-month prison sentence on a man convicted for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and for operating a prostitution business in western Garapan.
During a hearing that ended Tuesday at 6pm, U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Alex R. Munson sentenced Chang Da Liu to a total of 57 months for five counts of the charges.
After serving the jail term, Liu will be placed on five years of supervised release.
Munson directed Liu to pay $500 in special assessment fee plus restitution jointly with co-defendant Ming Yan Zheng in the amount of $22,220 to the victim and $25,220 to the other victim.
After completing the prison sentence, the defendant should be delivered to Immigration for deportation, the judge said.
The judge ordered that during the probationary period, Liu would perform 500 hours of community work service.
Munson remanded Liu to the custody of the U.S. Marshal until a federal jail facility is designated for him.
At the hearing, assistant U.S. attorney Timothy Moran recommended a maximum sentence and full restitution for Liu.
Attorney Steven Pixley, counsel for Liu, recommended sentencing at the lower end of the sentencing guidelines.
In August 2006, a federal court jury had found Liu and his girlfriend, businesswoman Zheng, guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, foreign transportation for prostitution and foreign transportation of persons in execution of fraud scheme; two counts of sex trafficking; one count of foreign transportation for prostitution; and one count of foreign transportation of persons in execution of fraud scheme.
In his argument, Moran said Liu lied to his victims, promising them a better life and better payment, to induce them to come to Saipan.
The prosecutor said when the two girls were recruited in China they were never told to engage in prostitution on Saipan.
