Chicago man pleads guilty in Sacramento sex-trafficking case | The Sacramento Bee

A Chicago man has pleaded guilty to a sex trafficking offense involving an underage girl in the Sacramento area.

Marquist Piere Bradford, 28, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Sacramento to sex trafficking of children by force, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

Court documents indicate that in early 2012, Bradford recruited a 15-year-old girl to travel from Fresno to Sacramento, where he used her as part of a prostitution business from Jan. 19 to Feb. 5 of that year.

According to court documents, Bradford maintained an apartment in Rancho Cordova, which he used as a base of operations for a prostitution business that included the Sacramento and Bay areas, as well as cities outside California. At least two of Bradford’s victims were younger than 18.

Authorities said Bradford fled from Sacramento to Chicago after law enforcement officers recovered the victim in the case.

Bradford has remained in custody since his arrest in Springfield, Ill., in April 2012. He is to be sentenced Oct. 23 by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr.

The case resulted from an investigation by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and the Sacramento FBI Innocence Lost Task Force.