DES MOINES, Iowa – An Ottumwa man was sentenced on September 6, 2024, to 40 years in federal prison for sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion of two victims, sex trafficking of one child, enticement and attempted enticement of two minors, and using the internet to facilitate prostitution after pleading guilty to all six charges in April 2024, roughly a week before his trial was scheduled to begin.

According to public court documents, from 2018 to 2023, Darnell Keith Jones, 32, victimized at least five individuals—two children and three adults—throughout parts of Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana, including in the areas of Ottumwa, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Chicago. Jones successfully sex trafficked one adult and one child. To cause his victims to engage in sex acts in exchange for money, Jones used physical assaults, harassment, and threats. He also acted like a boyfriend to his victims, attempting to convince victims that they could demonstrate their loyalty and love by completing sex acts for money. Among other things, Jones threatened a victim with a knife, hit a victim with a brick, and choked and strangled victims with such force that his victims lost consciousness or even urinated. Jones raped one victim and attempted to rape another. Jones admitted that he drove his victims to locations where they completed sex acts for money and that he used various internet websites to advertise the adult victims.

Jones coerced and attempted to coerce two female children to engage in illegal sexual conduct, including prostitution. One child was just fourteen years old, and Jones used text-message communications to persuade the child to engage in prostitution and to engage in sex acts with him.

“This case and many similar cases have a lifelong impact on the victims, which is not something the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office takes lightly,” said Wapello County Sheriff Don Phillips. “Local, state, and federal agencies worked together towards the common goal of ensuring justice for the victims and protecting the community. I will always make sure the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office does our part in combating human trafficking in the State of Iowa.”

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This criminal case was investigated jointly by the Ottumwa Police Department, Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations.

Wapello County Sheriff’s Office Detective Aaron McConnell, Ottumwa Police Department Investigator Jeremy Tosh, and Ottumwa Police Department Investigator Caleb Mitchell served as case agents, with assistance from Special Agent Hai Tran, of Homeland Security Investigations and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Kyle Essley and Laura Roan prosecuted the case.

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.