He was one of four men initially indicted for sex trafficking one 15-year-old girl
TRENTON -- A Philadelphia man who forced a 15-year-old girl into prostitution and tried to use her for blackmail in Bordentown was sentenced to prison Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.
Samuel "Dre" Verrier, 38, was sentenced to eight years behind bars Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Trenton.
District Judge Michael A. Shipp imposed the sentence after Verrier pleaded guilty to a charge of, "procuring the interstate travel of a person to engage in illicit sexual conduct for the purpose of financial gain," the office said.
Verrier also ordered Verrier to have a lifetime of supervised release and ordered to pay $60,000 to the teen victim.
The plea deal and sentence are just the latest in a case that started in 2011 when the 15-year-old girl was forced into prostitution in upstate New York by a man named Wilbur Senat, who threatened her family and made her move to Philadelphia, authorities have said.
There, she was abused by Senat and another man, Varian Charles, and trafficked again, authorities have said.
4 men indicted for sex trafficking teen
In August of 2011, Verrier became a sort of pimp for the victim, forcing her into prostitution again in various spots around the city, the statement said Wednesday.
For two weeks Verrier gave the girl drugs and alcohol and carted her around bars and strip clubs, ordering her to have sex with men for money, according to the statement.
It wasn't until September of 2011 that Verrier and his co-defendant, Karl Venord were discovered in New Jersey when they tried to use the teen girl for blackmail.
The attorney's office said the men told the 15-year-old to go up to a man in a Bordentown parking lot, seduce him and photograph any sexual encounters they had. The goal was for Verrier and Venord to use pictures to extort money from the man, the statement said.
But Verrier and Venord were caught after the man declined sex with the teen and a witness in the parking lot called police.
In January of 2014, Senat, Charles, Verrier and Venord were all indicted on various counts for sex trafficking the child, authorities have said.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman