NEW BERN, N.C. (WNCT) – A man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after forcing a 15-year-old girl into prostitution in several migrant camps near Wilson.
William M. Saddler, 35, was sentenced to 40 years of prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
On November 30, 2017, Saddler was found guilty by a federal jury in New Bern of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion of a minor.
The U.S. Attorney, Robert J. Hidgon Jr., said that Saddler started dating the victim and having a sexual relationship with her when she was 15-years-old.
Saddler gave her crack, took her to several migrant camps near Wilson and forced her to prostitute, Hidgon said.
Hidgon said that Saddler used violence and manipulation to force her to continue prostituting to support his crack cocaine habit.
Evidence showed that Saddler’s brother, Bobby R. Williams Jr. along with his girlfriend, Temeeka Honey, helped transport the victim to prostitute. Williams then also began prostituting her.
On December 2015, Saddler’s crack cocaine dealer, Kenneth C. Ward along with his girlfriend, Yadyra Brown, also began prostituting the victim around Wilson and Raleigh, Hidgon said.
Williams, Ward, Honey, and Brown all were previously convicted and sentenced in related cases.
The investigation was conducted by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Raleigh Police Department, the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, the Wilson Police Department, and the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office.
