BALTIMORE — A 26-year-old man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor. Sean Dean admitted he conspired to traffic four minor girls to engage in commercial sex acts for his financial benefit.
According to his plea, from December 2017 to January 2018, Dean recruited, harbored and transported five girls including minors ranging from 15 to 17 years old to engage in commercial sex acts.
He used social media and cellphones to recruit, monitor, direct and communicate with the four girls and woman. He also would rent hotel rooms across Maryland and would use a website to advertise the victims for sex acts.
On January 11, 2018, Dean and a co-conspirator transported all five victims to a hotel in Laurel. In response to a complaint, law enforcement responded to two different rooms rented by Dean. Law enforcement located three of the minors and the woman in the two rooms. The fourth minor girl had already left the hotel and Dean and the co-conspirator fled to avoid detection by law enforcement.
After leaving the area, Dean texted the woman indicating that he had left to avoid law enforcement because he knew one of the victims was underage. He also directed the woman to delete their messages.
As part of his plea agreement, Dean will be required to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). If the Court accepts the plea agreement Dean will be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
The scheduled sentencing is set for February 28, 2020.
