A Milwaukee gang member was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for sex trafficking on Thursday.
31-year-old Jovante L. Champion of Milwaukee was previously convicted of four felony crimes: sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; interstate transportation for prostitution; sex trafficking of a child and by force, fraud, or coercion; and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), trial evidence proved Champion was a member of a Milwaukee gang called "Everything Business," which is an offshoot of a violent Chicago-based street gang called Black P. Stone Nation.
The DOJ says Champion used his position and false promises of love and financial security to recruit two victims. One victim was recruited when she was 20, and the other after she had just turned 16.
Champion used physical force, coercion, a firearm, and his gang's backing to sell his victims for commercial sex in Illinois, Tennessee, and Texas, according to the DOJ.
The FBI and the Wisconsin Department of Justice - Division of Criminal INvestigation investigated the case with the help of the Dallas Police Department and the San Antonio Police Department.
