Sex trafficker admits guilt, faces 15 years

A man who told his victims to call him “God” asked for mercy Friday and pleaded guilty to charges of sex trafficking with force — which means prison for at least 15 years and maybe life.

On the last business day before a jury in his trial was to be picked, Godijah Dawkins, 27, Miami Gardens, was in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale to change his plea. Wearing a prison jumpsuit and shackles, he admitted forcing two women into prostitution with threats and violence.

Dawkins agreed to give up his right to challenge the charges against him and face 15 years to life for each count, according to federal sentencing guidelines. U.S. District Court Judge Wil- liam P. Dimitrouleas warned Dawkins he could be facing at least 30 years in prison if the judge decides he should not serve time for both charges consecutively. That will depend on the results of the pre-sentence investigation, the judge told him.

Sentencing is for September.

“You agree to throw yourself on the mercy of the court?” Dimitrouleas asked.

“Yes, your honor,” Dawkins said in a hushed voice.

He must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

The charges against Dawkins go back to 2010. That was when he helped another man, Jesse Lewis, 28, of Royal Palm Beach, maintain control of a woman who was forced to engage in sex in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Lewis was sentenced to 37 years in December after a jury found him guilty of sex trafficking and using a gun in the commission of a crime.

In 2014, Dawkins was introduced to another woman who thought she would be selling marijuana for him. But he took her to a hotel in Hialeah with a man she knew as “Magic.” There, she was forced to have sex with both men, even though she was vomiting and bleeding.

Court records show that Dawkins registered his business, “Black Cash Media,” with the state of Flori-

scheduled da. Using an email with that name, Dawkins registered with the career networking service, LinkedIn and also took out 34 advertisements offering the woman’s escort services in Backpage.com using her photo.

Dawkins gave the woman rules to follow, which included only referring to him as “God” or “Daddy” when she spoke to him, court records show. He forbade her to talk to other men, broke her phone and gave her a new one to set up prostitution dates, according to court records. She had sex for money in hotel rooms in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis Viamontes told the court that when Dawkins realized the woman, in her early 20s, was secretly avoiding prostitution calls, he hit and choked her until she lost consciousness. When she recovered, she was lying in a bathtub and choking on water, Viamontes told the court.

The woman escaped in August, after nine months in Dawkins’ control, records show.

Dimitrouleas asked Dawkins if this was an accurate representation of what happened.

“Yes, your kins replied.

honor,”

Daw-

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