A Wilkes-Barre man who prosecutors say conspired with his wife to force a teenage girl into prostitution has pleaded guilty and faces up to life in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Travis “GT” Humphrey, 26, pleaded guilty in federal court in Scranton on Thursday to a single count of sex trafficking of a child by force, fraud or coercion. Prosecutors dropped seven other counts against him in the case, records show.
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Humphrey’s wife, Kyoni Humphrey — aka Kyoni Nieves — pleaded guilty in May to a count of transporting a girl across state lines to engage in prostitution. She was released to her mother’s custody pending sentencing, according to court records.
An indictment handed up in January alleged the couple recruited a 16-year-old girl, who they forced into a life of prostitution. They bought her clothes and lingerie that they photographed her wearing, and then posted cellphone photos of the child in advertisements for “escort” services on Backpage.com in May 2013, according to the indictment.
The pair then rented out motel rooms in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, as well as in New Jersey and New York, where the girl was sent to perform sex acts on johns, according to the indictment.
The Humphreys rented a vehicle to drive the girl and provided her condoms for the job, which prosecutors said she was forced into by violence and the threat of force.
Kyoni Humphrey lied at a gun shop to buy a Stoeger 9mm pistol for Travis Humphrey, a convicted felon, so he could maintain the operation, according to the indictment.
A federal grand jury indicted Humphrey in January following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, state police and the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office.
Travis Humphrey, who remains in custody, faces at least 10 years in prison and up to a life sentence at sentencing, set for Sept. 22.
