Kansas City man sentenced to 18 years in sex trafficking case involving teenage girls
A Kansas City man who pleaded guilty to selling women and teenage girls through the sex trade was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years in federal prison.
Corey Lavelle Smith, 28, pleaded guilty in March to two felonies for sex trafficking and participating in a sex trafficking conspiracy in the Western District of Missouri. U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs ordered Smith to spend 18 years in prison without the possibility of parole, reflecting the binding plea agreement reached in March.
The case against Smith as a local sex trafficker was led by Homeland Security Investigations. It began when a 14-year-old girl, identified in court documents as FV1, was treated at Children’s Mercy Hospital in December 2018 after being involved in a traffic crash involving a stolen vehicle.
The teenager was treated at the hospital and screened for signs of sexual assault as she reported to staff that she had been “physically forced to have sex” and “had previously had sex for money,” according to charging documents for Smith.
A few weeks after the car crash, Homeland Security was investigating the case of a 14-year-old runaway who had left a drug treatment facility in Jefferson City. An unnamed informant later contacted a tip line to say the young girl could not reveal her location as she feared retaliation “from her captors” if she did so.
A federal agent with HSI obtained personal items held by Blue Springs police belonging to the teenager, including a cellphone. Social media messages led investigators to a 16-year-old in Mississippi who said she was the girl’s best friend and had also been trafficked by Smith.
The second teenager, identified as FV2, told investigators in early 2019 that she had recently left Kansas City and provided a phone number for the 14-year-old. Investigators used that information to track the other girl’s location to an apartment building in the 3500 block of Paseo.
Surveillance was set up on the apartment until the 14-year-old was seen exiting the building with Smith and others. She and the group entered a vehicle that fled a traffic stop but was stopped a few blocks away at 39th Street and Forrest, according to court documents.
During a police interview, the 14-year-old told investigators Smith was her pimp and that he went by the name “Fatz.” She said she told him she was 16, and that he groomed her into the sex trade by buying her things and partying with her.
Eventually, the girl recounted, Smith would encourage her to lie about her age. He also became “meaner” with time, she said, and would deprive her of food, keep her locked in an apartment and take most of the money she was paid.
She said she was forced into prostitution around the Kansas City area and advertised on the internet. If she was paid $150, she said, Smith would keep all but $10 or $20.
She estimated she had performed 10 commercial sex acts within the week before Smith’s arrest. Agents noted her phone “continued to receive solicitations for commercial sex acts” while she was in federal custody.
Prosecutors say the 16-year-old, FV2, also described cases where Smith would strike her and FV1 with extension cords and that they could not leave the business unless they died.
In letters to Judge Sachs, several family members and other supporters wrote that Smith was remorseful for his actions and had taken steps to reform his life since his arrest. Noting his federal case was the only example of criminal activity on his record, they said Smith could be a productive member of society if given the opportunity.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that another involved in the sex trafficking conspiracy, Kenyashae Monae Roach, 29, of Kansas City, still awaits sentencing. Roach pleaded guilty in March to a felony of transportation for illegal sexual activity.
This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 10:59 PM.
