Cincinnati man pleads guilty to soliciting sex with 15-year-old

CINCINNATI - Jonathan Malachi Washington, 30, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to conspiring to sex traffic children by "paying" for sex with a minor.

According to court documents, in November 2023, Washington solicited sex acts from a 15-year-old girl through a co-conspirator. Washington agreed to pay the co-conspirator $400-$500 to engage in sex acts with the victim.

Washington drove the victim to his apartment in Cincinnati for commercial sex. While he and the victim were gone, the co-conspirator posted on his SnapChat that he had "Pimped out his girl." Washington returned the victim to the co-conspirator and paid him $400-$500 in counterfeit money.

Washington was charged federally in September 2024. He pleaded guilty to a bill of information that charges him with one count of conspiring to sex traffic children.

Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a future hearing.

Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Matthew Stentz, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit, announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Matthew W. McFarland. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case.

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