An Illinois man pled guilty in Los Angeles to a federal sex trafficking charge before United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II on Monday.
According to the plea agreement, 45-year-old Jerome Terry admitted he lured two 19-year-olds, both women from Canada, to Los Angeles by promising to promote their modeling careers through a company he set up called CanadianGirlzRock, Inc.
Terry said he “intended and planned to recruit, entice, and transport the women to Los Angeles, or other locations, and to harbor, provide, obtain, and maintain the women to engage in commercial sex acts."
In late 2014, Terry used "force, threats of force, fraud, and/or coercion" on the first victim to have her engage in sex acts with four clients over the course of four days until she was rescued by Los Angeles Police officers, according to a Department of Justice statement.
Terry contacted the second victim in 2014 and told her she would "need to perform acts of prostitution to make money to support her modeling career." He claimed any money she made would go towards her career and her family.
She travelled to LA in early 2015. After engaging in sex acts for over 10 days, the second victim asked Terry about compensation, Terry reportedly became angry and broke her phone.
Officials say Terry has been in federal custody since being extradited from Canada in 2019. A sentence hearing for Terry was scheduled for Oct. 25.
The two co-conspirators, who were originally charged with Terry, have entered into diversion agreements.
The trafficking case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, with help from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.