California man sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for sex trafficking women across the U.S.A

Seattle - A 33-year-old California man who compelled women into prostitution using assaults, threats, fraud, and manipulation was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 210 months (17.5 years) in prison for six federal felonies related to his multi-state sex trafficking activity, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Brandon Denzel Washington was convicted in March 2026 of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion, one count of sex trafficking by fraud and coercion and four counts of transporting women for the purpose of prostitution through coercion and enticement. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones noted that while prostitution "is often referred to as 'the oldest profession' . . . in actuality, it is the oldest oppression." Judge Jones told Washington that while he "may have perceived [himself] as 'King Bentley,'" he was "little more than a slave master." Judge Jones also noted that while Washington would receive a release date following his prison term, there "was no expiration date for the pain and trauma [he] inflicted upon his victims."

"For nearly ten years this defendant supported a lavish lifestyle while preying on young, vulnerable women and forcing, defrauding, and coercing them into prostitution," said First Assistant Neil Floyd. "Multiple victims were brave enough to testify in court and told harrowing stories of abuse - emotional, mental, and physical - that Washington employed to keep them earning money for his benefit. This lengthy prison term is justly deserved."

According to records filed in the case, multiple victims testified about Washington trafficking and transporting them to and from Washington, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Hawaii between 2014 and 2021.

The sex trafficking scheme was first uncovered when a retired Bellevue Police Officer working security noticed a large number of men visiting a Bellevue luxury apartment building over a period of just a few weeks. From there, law enforcement analyzed financial records, travel records, ads for commercial sex posted in online forums, and social media posts to identify potential victims and to gather evidence.

Five of Washington's sex trafficking victims testified at the trial, some describing brutal assaults and threats Washington used to keep them or other victims in his control and earning hundreds of thousands of dollars for him through commercial sex acts.

When women were finally able to get free from his control, they left without any of the money they had earned. Evidence at trial showed that Washington used his victims' earnings to fund his lifestyle, including luxury apartments in downtown Seattle, Bellevue, Las Vegas, and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, designer clothes, fine dining, and luxury vehicles. Through one victim, he acquired a Bentley car worth over $120,000, which he then wrapped in gold. Washington then used his social media accounts to boast about his lifestyle in an effort to recruit other women.

At trial, prosecutors offered text messages and messages from social media where Washington described the hundreds of thousands of dollars he took from the women in his control. In those messages, he also discussed the violence he used to control them and the manipulation and promises he used to recruit other victims. In some text messages, Washington stated that he was searching for victims with low self-esteem or who were otherwise particularly vulnerable targets who he could force and manipulate into sex work.

In asking the court for a 292-month sentence, prosecutors wrote, "The seriousness of Washington's crimes is magnified by his use of physical, mental, and emotional coercion to prey upon and control his victims. He put them in danger every day he used them - forcing them into being completely vulnerable to strange men who could arrest them or rape them. He used their prostitution earnings to live a flashy, luxurious lifestyle, buying himself luxury items, traveling, and living in high-end apartments - leaving his victims with nothing to show for the months and years they dedicated to Washington. He referred to them as "hoes" and "bitches" who had no worth and no dignity, and whose sole purpose was to make him money. He talked derisively about them and to them and bragged in his text messages about his vicious assaults."

Speaking at the sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Celia Lee noted the family support Washington had from his mother and sisters in contrast to how he treated his victims saying, "He chose not to extend decency to the women he trafficked… He sold them a lie and then he sold them over and over to strangers."

"This case highlights what is generally an unseen danger by the public - the targeting of vulnerable women who are forced into prostitution and human trafficking," said Acting HSI Seattle Special Agent in Charge April Miller. "Washington used assaults, threats, fraud, and coercion to manipulate these women into, and then to keep them in, this horrendous situation. We greatly appreciate the vigilance of the retired Bellevue Police officer and the work of the Bellevue Police Department as a whole. The breaking of this ring and arrest of Washington may have saved lives and after four weeks of testimony, finally provided the trafficking victims an opportunity to share their stories and be heard."

Judge Jones will determine the amount of restitution Washington must pay to the victims at a hearing scheduled for September 11, 2026.

Following prison Washington will be on ten years of supervised release with requirements that he complete treatment for domestic violence.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the Bellevue Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kate Crisham and Celia Lee.