Nevada Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Sex Crimes Against Minors

Juan Rico Doss of Reno, Nev. was sentenced to life in prison without parole for transporting two children across state lines to work as prostitutes in California, said the U.S. Department of Justice. Doss received the mandatory life without parole sentence from U. S. District Judge Stephen G. Larson after being convicted in June 2006 of two counts of sex trafficking of children, three counts of transporting minors into prostitution, one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children and transporting minors into prostitution, and two counts of witness tampering.

Doss' victims, a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl, were taken from Nevada to work as prostitutes in L.A., Sacramento, San Francisco and Oakland in May 2005. During the trial, prosecutors showed that Doss received money from men in exchange for sex with the two girls. The girls were told to lie about their age if asked.

In April 2006, Doss' first trail was declared a mistrial after the younger victim refused to testify against Doss. It was determined that the witness had been influenced by Doss, which led to additional charges of witness tampering against Doss.

"Juan Rico Doss stole the freedom of his young female victims when he recruited them and transported them across state lines for prostitution, sometimes through the use of force. Now he will spend the rest of his life in prison," said Assistant Attorney General Fisher. "The life sentence in this case is the result of the cooperative effort of federal prosecutors, the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department, and is part of our ongoing effort to prevent and prosecute the sexual exploitation of child victims."

Doss' wife, Jacquay Quinn Ford, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for her role in the crimes. She cooperated with the government and testified against her husband.

The convictions mark the second time that Doss had been convicted for sex crimes against minors. Because of his previous conviction, he was eligible for the life sentence under new sentencing guidelines that became effective on November 1. Doss's sentence is one of the first in the nation under the new federal guidelines.

The case was investigated as part of the FBI's Innocence Lost Initiative, a program focused on child victims of interstate sex trafficking in the U.S. The FBI has opened taskforce offices in 14 cities with high rates of child prostitution. As of 2006, the project has resulted in 553 arrests, 101 indictments and 75 convictions.

Source: U.S. DOJ Press Release: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/July/07_crm_482.html