COLUMBIA, S.C. — Two South Carolina women have pleaded guilty to human trafficking conspiracy in federal court.
Monesha Tatayana Lapri Gary, 24, of Clinton, and Rebecca Melanie Perry, 30, of Columbia, pleaded guilty to human trafficking conspiracy in federal court in Columbia.
According to evidence presented in court, from at least December 2022 through August 2023, Gary and Perry worked together with co-defendants Antonio Marquis Nicholson and Terrell Counts to exploit three minors in the commercial sex trade, despite several members of the conspiracy knowing they were minors.
Authorities said Nicholson and Perry recruited a minor victim when they encountered her at a hotel as a runaway. They reportedly drove her across state lines, told her that she was going to work in commercial sex, bought her lingerie, took photos of her, advertised her for commercial sex on the internet, and arranged for customers to exploit her at hotels in the Columbia area and elsewhere in the state.
Prosecutors said Nicholson set prices, collected proceeds, decided which minor victims would receive some portion of the proceeds, and how much they would receive. Gary is accused of chatting with customers as if she was a minor victim, transporting a minor to another city to be exploited, collecting proceeds, and turning them over to Nicholson, and intervening with customers when problems arose, all while the minor was multiple states away from her family. Perry reportedly helped in a similar way.
Authorities said two additional minor victims were recruited near a high school, and they were exploited on days they were not in school. Members of the conspiracy reportedly used the internet to advertise the minors, communicate with customers, arrange encounters, and collect proceeds.
Prosecutors said one minor victim was physically assaulted, and several of the members of the conspiracy carried firearms and distributed drugs around the minor victims.
Gary and Perry face a penalty of up to life in prison. They also face a fine of up to $250,000 and lifetime supervision to follow a term of imprisonment and mandatory sex offender registry requirements.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Gary and Perry after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office. The indictment remains pending against Nicholson and Counts.