Milton Antonio Hasty, a/k/a “Montana,” 31, of Salisbury, N.C., was sentenced to 21 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release today for sex trafficking of a minor, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Chief Johnny Jennings, of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
"For over five months, Hasty caused an underage girl to engage in commercial sex acts for his own profit. He trafficked the young victim across four states and made her engage in sexual activity even when she was sick, exhausted, and hungry. Hasty’s lengthy sentence reflects the appalling nature of his crime,” said U.S. Attorney King.
“One of the most important missions in the FBI is to protect our children,” said Special Agent in Charge DeWitt. “That is one of the many reasons the FBI devotes a significant amount of resources to help sex trafficking victims recover from the trauma they suffer at the hands of ruthless people like Hasty. Today’s sentence is a stark warning, there is a harsh punishment for those who choose to sacrifice another person’s civil rights and freedom for their own profit.”
According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from January 22, 2019, to June 5, 2019, Hasty sex trafficked an underage female, knowing the victim was a minor, for his financial benefit. Court documents show that Hasty met the victim through a mutual female acquaintance. Upon meeting the victim, Hasty took photographs of the victim, posted escort advertisements online, booked hotel rooms, and arranged the victim’s sexual encounters with customers. For over five months, Hasty and the minor victim traveled to various cities throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia, where the victim engaged in commercial sex acts. Hasty set up sexual encounters for the minor victim twenty-four hours a day and seven-days a week. Hasty kept almost all of the money the victim earned from these commercial sexual encounters.
On October 13, 2021, Hasty pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
U.S. Attorney King praised the FBI, HSI, and CMPD for their investigation of the case and said, “Sex trafficking cases are some of the most important and difficult federal prosecutions that my office handles. I commend the investigative work of our law enforcement partners in this case, which led to Hasty’s substantial prison term.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Lindahl of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
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