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A California man who admitted he had acted as a "pimp" and arranged prostitution activities of a Utah woman in several states was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in federal prison.
Brandon L. Walton, 31, pleaded guilty in March to one count of transportation for illegal sexual activity. Charges of kidnapping and sex trafficking were dropped as part of a plea bargain.
U.S. District Judge David Sam in Salt Lake City also required Walton to register as a sex offender.
In an indictment issued last year, Walton was accused of kidnapping the Utah woman at knifepoint in the Salt Lake Valley and forcing her to work as a prostitute before she was able to escape about a month later.
The woman, referred to as Victim A in court documents, said Walton hit her and shocked her with a stun gun to keep her from escaping after the March 2009 kidnapping.
Walton said in a written statement that he had personally transported the woman or arranged for her transportation to and from Salt Lake City; Camarillo, Calif., Rawlins, Wy.; Santa Fe, N.M.; and Albuquerque, N.M., so she could engage in prostitution. The victim said she was forced to prostitute herself in Utah, California and New Mexico.
According to an FBI affidavit, Victim A said Walton abducted her on March 29, 2009, and took her to a Sandy hotel, where two women who worked for him were staying. Walton allegedly told the two to post an ad for the victim on craigslist.com and help her get ready for her "dates" with clients.
"From the very beginning, the victim told Walton she did not want to work for him," the affidavit says. "His response was that it did not matter because he needed money."
After traveling to different cities for about a month, the group -- along with a woman from Albuquerque who wanted to work with them --returned to Utah at the end of April 2009, according to the affidavit. It says the victim was able to escape from a Murray hotel by telling the Albuquerque woman that she had to pay the room bill.