DES MOINES, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a Des Moines man, 45-year old Marlin Santana Thomas, has been charged in federal court with sex trafficking eight victims. In August, a United States Grand Jury filed a Superseding Indictment in the United States District Court charging Thomas with the offenses. Thomas appeared before a federal magistrate judge on September 2, 2020, and is currently detained in federal custody.

Thomas is charged with sex trafficking seven adult victims by force, threats of force, fraud, and coercion, and is alleged to have sex trafficked one minor victim. Thomas is charged with
trafficking victims over nearly a decade, from as early as September 2009, up until February 2018. Thomas is also charged with distributing heroin to two victims, who were under the age of twenty-one, and with several related offenses, such as transporting victims out of state for the purpose of prostitution. In late February 2018, Thomas was arrested as part of a separate federal drug investigation, for which he is currently serving a federal prison term.

The public is reminded that charges contain only accusations and are not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the
burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
If convicted, Thomas is subject to a fifteen-year mandatory minimum prison term for sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, up to life imprisonment. Sex trafficking of children 14 years
of age and older, without the allegation of force, fraud, or coercion, carries a ten year mandatory
minimum, and a maximum term of life in prison.

Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of youth under the age of 18 for commercial sex; the exploitation of adults for commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or
coercion; and the exploitation of any individual for compelled labor. Human trafficking does not require the transportation of individuals across state lines, or that someone is physically restrained. Signs that a person is being trafficked can include working excessively long hours, unexplained gifts, physical injury, substance abuse issues, running away from home, isolation from others, or having a person in their life controlling them or monitoring them closely. Victims particularly susceptible to being trafficked include those with criminal histories, a history of physical or sexual abuse, uncertain legal status, and dependency on controlled substances.

Individuals who purchase sex from minors or from those who are otherwise exploited for commercial sex are also subject to prosecution for sex trafficking under federal law, if they knew or
were in reckless disregard of the fact that they were under the age of 18, or that force, fraud, or coercion was used. Anyone who suspects human trafficking is occurring, be it a minor engaging in paid sex acts, or anyone being coerced into prostitution or labor, is urged to call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

If anyone has information about this defendant, Marlin Santana Thomas, they are urged to call the Des Moines Police Department Vice/Narcotics Office at 515-237-1516, or
call the National Human Trafficking Hotline. This case is being investigated by the Des Moines Police Department and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.