(WWJ) — A Warren man will spend up to four decades behind bars for human trafficking a minor.
James Madison-Cranford, who pleaded guilty to multiple charges last month, was sentenced Tuesday to 7-40 years in prison, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.
Madison-Cranford, 30, is currently serving a prison sentence for one count of accepting earnings from prostitution. It was not immediately clear whether that charge is tied to this case.
In 2017, according to the AG’s office, he created an online account offering “for sale sex with a minor.”
He also set up “dates” for the girl and took the money that she was paid. Madison-Cranford also forced the victim to perform sex acts on himself and “threatened or used violence to get the minor to submit,” according to Nessel’s office.
The victim’s age was not disclosed.
Madison-Cranford pleaded guilty to the following charges:
• One count of human trafficking of a minor for commercial sexual activity
• One count of accepting earnings from prostitution
• One count of transporting a person for the purpose of prostitution
• One count of conducting a criminal enterprise
• Three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct
• One count of assault by strangulation
• One count of assault with a dangerous weapon
“Human trafficking is a pervasive and horrific problem everywhere, and tragically Michigan is no exception. But it is also a severely punishable criminal offense, and I am grateful to the Court for handing down a significant sentence in this case,” Nessel said, per a press release. “My office, through our work on the state’s Human Trafficking Commission, and in our prosecutions, remains committed to holding traffickers and those who exploit children accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
The case was initially investigated by the FBI’s Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes (SEMTEC) Task Force.
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