From Caribbean360

MIAMI, United States, Thursday, July 3, 2014, CMC – A Jamaican national has been found guilty for his role in an international sex trafficking operation.

Damion St. Patrick Baston, 37, was convicted on three counts of sex trafficking – both in the United States and Australia – five counts of transporting multiple individuals for prostitution, one count of importation of an alien for prostitution and one count of using a passport secured by false statement.

Baston was also convicted on one count of aggravated identity theft and nine counts of money laundering.

In addition, he was found guilty of illegally re-entering the United States after being previously deported.

According to court documents, Baston victimized seven women in the Middle East, Australia and the United States.

Baston is scheduled to be sentenced on September 5 before US District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga, who presided over the trial. He faces between 15 years and life in prison.

Six victims “bravely testified” at trial that they had been trafficked for sex beginning in 2011 in various cities, including Miami, according to the documents.

Baston had been ordered removed from the United States in the late 1990s but stole the identity of an American citizen, which he used to obtain a Florida ID card and US passport.

He used this false identity for international travel as he continued to recruit and victimize women, court records reveal.

“This case brought us halfway around the world to ensure justice for the victims,” said Alysa D. Erichs, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) Miami.

“HSI, along with our federal and international law enforcement partners, will continue to work diligently to ensure international boundaries do not hinder the enforcement of justice,” she added.

US Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer said “the bravery of the victims in this case is commendable,” adding that their testimony demonstrated that, “despite the terrible abuse that they suffered from this defendant, they are truly survivors.

“We can never forget that human trafficking is a heinous crime that exploits people; it simply cannot be tolerated. This case was the result of the hard work and coordination of the South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force in Miami, including our federal prosecutors, as well as that of law enforcement officers and non-governmental organizations in Australia and the Dubai Police Department” he added.

. Ferrer said it was also the first time that the US used the recently-enacted extraterritorial jurisdiction provision of the anti-trafficking laws to charge someone for sex trafficking that occurred in another country.

“Working with our dedicated law enforcement partners here and abroad we have ensured that Baston will be unable to continue to exploit more women,” he said.

PHOTO: DAMION ST. PATRICK BASTON

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