Yusef Reynolds, a 34-year-old former Delaware resident, received a 27-year prison sentence followed by lifetime supervised release for sex trafficking of a minor through force, fraud, or coercion. This was announced by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Reynolds committed these offenses while on supervised release from a previous federal sex trafficking conviction in Delaware.
FBI Special Agent in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department joined U.S. Attorney Ferguson in announcing the sentence.
“Today’s lengthy sentence is appropriate for a defendant who while on supervised release for sex trafficking a minor engaged in the same behavior—using violence and physical abuse to control a minor and force her to engage in sexual acts for his profit,” stated U.S. Attorney Ferguson. He also commended his office’s efforts to protect children and hold offenders accountable.
Special Agent Barnacle added, “After serving federal prison time for sex trafficking an underage girl, Yusef Reynolds went right back to his predatory ways… The FBI will continue to work with our partners and prioritize punishing those who abuse children.”
Court documents reveal that Reynolds was previously convicted in 2012 on federal charges of sex trafficking a minor and illegal firearm possession, receiving a 10-year prison term. After his release in 2021 under federal supervision, he trafficked a 16-year-old runaway from Massachusetts between December 2021 and January 2022. Using Facebook to contact the victim in North Carolina with promises of a better life, he persuaded her to join him in Delaware despite knowing she was underage.
Filed court documents state that Reynolds arranged for two individuals to transport the victim to Delaware where he immediately began exploiting her sexually. He advertised her services online and took all earnings from these encounters while using physical violence, threats, verbal abuse, and drugs as coercive measures.
Reynolds pleaded guilty on March 29, 2024, to charges of sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud or coercion. He awaits transfer into Federal Bureau of Prisons custody upon designation of an appropriate facility.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson credited the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force for its investigative work alongside CMPD and Gaston County Sheriff’s Office cooperation leading to this outcome. These task forces operate across nearly every FBI field office employing collaborative multi-agency approaches among federal state local tribal partners aiming primarily at recovering victims investigating traffickers both state federally.
Assistant U.S Attorney Stephanie Spaugh prosecuted this case out from Charlotte’s U S Attorneys Office.
