Palestine man sentenced for sex trafficking of child
A Palestine man was sentenced Wednesday to life in federal prison for his role in the sex trafficking of a six-year-old child.
Mario Waters, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian S. Miller, according to a press release from the Office of the United Sates Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
The case dates back to 2018 when the child was taken to Arkansas Children’s Hospital due to symptoms that were later determined to be caused by several sexually-transmitted diseases.
During interviews with an FBI forensic specialist, the child disclosed that a man, later determined to be DeMarcus George, 28, had raped her. The child also told investigators that another man, later determined to be Waters, had also raped her.
The girl told interviewers that the rape occurred in a hotel room, describing it as a room with a curtain in the middle of it, while also describing a picture hanging on the wall.
The child told investigators that on at least one occasion, Waters came to the room, where she was with George, raped her and then gave George money.
Law enforcement officers were able to locate a hotel in Little Rock that matched the description provided by the child, including the picture on the wall and the curtain. Financial records from the hotel showed that the minor’s mother had rented a room at the hotel in March 2018 and paid with a credit card. The child has since been removed from the mother’s custody. The press release did not mention any charges against the mother in this case.
It was determined by doctors at Arkansas Children’s Hospital that the child had unlikely obtained each sexually transmitted disease from the same offender and that there were likely multiple offenders. Officers obtained search warrants for George’s and Waters’ blood and urine, with results indicating both tested positive for sexually transmitted diseases the minor had contracted.
George and Waters were indicted in September 2018 and each pleaded guilty in November 2021.
According to the press release, both defendants admitted they had sexual contact with the minor and were involved in trafficking her with others.
Miller sentenced George to life in prison in October last year.
There is no parole in the federal system, officials said in the press release.
In a separate case on
Wednesday, Miller sentenced a Bigelow man to 25 years in the federal prison system for producing child pornography.
Miller sentenced Jakob Brown, 26, in the case dating back to April 2020 when the Conway Police Department received a report about a male harassing and extorting a female victim on Facebook and SnapChat. Investigators determined the user of those social media accounts was Brown, who is a registered sex offender.
Officials arrested Brown and seized his phone, which contained 18 videos and 87