Cleoretta Allen, 41, of Louisville, Kentucky, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky to two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and one count of interstate transportation for prostitution.

According to court documents, the defendant used violence, threats, fear, and intimidation to coerce two young women to engage in commercial sex acts in the Louisville area between September 2017 and October 2017. Allen also transported the victims from Kentucky to Georgia to engage in commercial sex. On Oct. 31, 2017, the victims contacted the police, which resulted in the defendant’s arrest.

“This defendant abused the victims and coerced them to engage in commercial sex for her gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work tirelessly to seek justice on behalf of victims and survivors of human trafficking.”

“Our basic task in law enforcement is to protect the most vulnerable in this community,” said U.S. Attorney Russell M. Coleman of the Western District of Kentucky. “This successful investigation and prosecution demonstrates that principle is just how we do business in the Western District of Kentucky.”

“Human traffickers have no limits and will find victims anywhere,” said Special Agent in Charge James Robert Brown Jr of the FBI’s Louisville Field Office. “Through investigations like this with our law enforcement partners, FBI Louisville is fiercely focused on freeing victims from the abusive life of sex trafficking and bringing to justice those who exploit them.”

In accordance with the plea agreement, the defendant faces a sentence of 15 to 19.5 years in prison. She is further subject to a maximum fine of $250,000 per count of conviction, as well as mandatory restitution to the victims. Sentencing will be scheduled on a later date.

This case was investigated by the FBI in Louisville, Kentucky, the Louisville Metro Police Department, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda E. Gregory of the Western District of Kentucky and Special Litigation Counsel William E. Nolan and Trial Attorney Kate Alexander of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.