Crimes against Children 10-13-12

Memphis, TN
Kala Bray, 19, of Memphis, was sentenced today to 168 months in prison for conspiracy to engage in child sex trafficking and sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.

According to the indictment, in the summer of 2011, Bray and her co-defendant, Vincent Jones, lured two Memphis-area juveniles to Houston with promises of a trip to a water park. Bray and Jones supplied the teens with drugs, including Oxycontin and Xanax, and made the juveniles engage in commercial sex acts both in Memphis and Houston. Bray pleaded guilty to the sex trafficking conspiracy on November 4, 2011.

Alexandria, VA
Roberto A. Darden, 25, of Newport News, Virginia, was sentenced today to 50 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to produce child pornography, as well as witness tampering.

“Roberto Darden changed a 13-year-old girl’s life forever by forcing her to endure violent sexual assaults and memorializing them all on video,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “Today’s sentence is just punishment for a man who lured this young girl to a hotel, filmed her sexual abuse, and then used the videos to blackmail her into prostitution—a well-rehearsed pattern he had used on young women before this one.”

Darden pled guilty to conspiring to produce child pornography and witness tampering on November 23, 2011. According to court documents, Darden, along with co-defendant Ujima Crudup, obtained money in exchange for sex acts performed by a 13-year-old victim. The defendants transported the victim to hotels in Hampton Roads to engage in prostitution and provided alcohol and illegal drugs to the victim. Darden and Crudup then videotaped the victim engaged in sex acts, and Darden used the videotape to coerce the victim into signing a contract explaining the requirements of being a prostitute and working for the defendants. The defendants made fliers and posted additional advertisements on the Internet. The victim was provided a cell phone to communicate with prostitution customers.

Marquette, MI
Aaron Timothy VanZile, 30, of Watersmeet, Michigan, and a member of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison for aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12, U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr. announced today. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar ordered VanZile to serve five years of supervised release following his release from prison and to pay a $100 special assessment. Upon release from prison, VanZile will be required to register as a sexual offender.


On May 10, 2012, VanZile pleaded guilty to count one of a federal indictment charging him with aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12. The charge stemmed from an incident at a residence in Watersmeet, Michigan, on the Lac Vieux Desert reservation on May 5, 2011. During this incident, VanZile, after ingesting alcohol and controlled substances, left the party he was attending and entered the home of another person without permission. Once inside the home, VanZile saw the 9-year-old victim on a couch and sexually assaulted her.

Bay Mills, MI
Jay Emerson Hunter, 22, a member of the Bay Mills Indian Community, was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison for aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12, U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr. announced today. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar ordered Hunter to serve five years of supervised release following his release from prison and to pay a $100 special assessment. Upon release from prison, Hunter will be required to register as a sexual offender.

On May 14, 2012, Hunter pleaded guilty to count one of a federal indictment charging him with aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12. The charge stemmed from an incident at a residence in Brimley, Michigan, on the Bay Mills Indian Community reservation between fall 2010 and spring 2011. During this incident, Hunter, who was babysitting the 8-year-old victim, sexually assaulted her. The incident came to light in June 2011 when the victim told another babysitter what had happened to her. During the investigation, Hunter admitted to sexually assaulting the victim on three separate occasions.