Man sentenced to 140 months for trafficking minors on Aurora Avenue, across state lines

On Friday, Judge Josephine Wiggs sentenced Curtis Coleman to 140 months in prison, after he pled guilty to the felony charges of human trafficking in the second degree and promoting prostitution in the first degree in August.

The investigation into Coleman was led by Seattle Police Detective Maurice Washington, who got word from victim advocates and service providers in May 2019 that two teens reported being trafficked, Washington wrote in his case investigation report.

King County prosecution said Coleman trafficked five victims — including three minors — along Aurora Avenue North in Seattle, an area known for prostitution, in Yakima, Wenatchee, the Tri-Cities, and across state lines in Idaho and Montana.

Coleman used social media and dating apps to recruit vulnerable women and children into prostitution, according to court documents. Two of his victims were ages 14 and 16 when Coleman allegedly groomed them.

Coleman instructed the victims on which sex acts to perform and how much to charge, the prosecution wrote in court records, and the victims were expected to work constantly.

One woman said Coleman beat her violently during their five-year relationship. Another woman said Coleman hurt her when she told him she couldn’t work because she was ill. Coleman had a strict “no disrespect” policy, the victims said according to court records.

Three years after Detective Washington heard from advocates, Coleman was before Judge Wiggs for sentencing.

The courtroom gallery was packed with Coleman’s family members, some of whom asked that the judge give Coleman “mercy” and sentence him to 140 months, which Coleman’s defense asked for, instead of the 171-month sentence prosecutors argued he should be given.

Ben Gauen, senior deputy prosecuting attorney, said during the court hearing that he usually recommends sentences of no more than 36 months for a first offense committed by young people who traffic other young people, because he said they had the capacity to change.

But at age 50, Coleman isn’t young, and this wasn’t his first offense.

“Instead, we've seen (Coleman) enter courtroom after courtroom and increase the severity of his criminal conduct and violence,” Gauen said.

Before the hearing, state and federal prosecutors cut a deal with Coleman, which stated they would not seek federal charges if he agreed to ask for no less than a 140-month sentence.

Coleman’s defense attorney, Amy Parker, said in court records that the “rough and tumble” plea negotiations left her client with few options.

“The state and federal prosecutors threatened Mr. Coleman with a potential life sentence if he didn’t plead guilty in state court,” Parker wrote.

Human Trafficking was a charge that Parker had never seen during 17 years of public defense. She said in court on Friday that these types of cases are typically charged and resolved under promoting prostitution, which at the high end would carry a sentence of 144 months.

A prior charge of promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor was dismissed on Friday as part of Coleman’s plea agreement.

Gauen said by email that the charges of promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor and human trafficking are equally as severe under Washington law — both are class A violent felonies.

Parker argued in a pre-sentence report that Coleman was a victim himself, was sexually abused as a child, and “immersed in the lives of those who engaged in sex-trafficking.” His mother was a sex worker and drug user, who was in and out of custody. As a child, the fear caused by Coleman’s stepfather’s abuse induced vomiting, his attorney said. She said he found safety and love when he stayed with his aunts.

“How immoral and reprehensible is a man who is just repeating what he was taught by those who were supposed to love him,” Parker wrote the court.

Before handing down the sentence, Judge Wiggs addressed Coleman.

“I hope you know, Mr. Coleman, that it's never too late to change,” she said. “Never. No matter your age, no matter what you've been through, no matter what you've done, take responsibility for it and get the help you need.”