Cleveland woman sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison for sex trafficking of minor

CLEVELAND - A Cleveland woman was sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison for her role in a sex trafficking ring that forced children into prostitution.

Chardee Barfield, 22, previously pleaded guilty to two counts: sex trafficking of a minor and transportation of a minor to engage in prostitution.

She was sentenced to 70 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster.

Her co-defendant, Ernest McClain, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 30 at 1:30 p.m.

“Stopping human trafficking is a top priority of this office,” said Steven Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “Forcing children to sell their bodies as part of the commercial sex industry is appalling.”

From Oct. 1 through Dec. 5, 2011, McClain and Barfield recruited, enticed and had an underage girl engage in a commercial sex act, according to court documents.

Later in December of that year, the pair took a 16 year-old girl from Ohio to Pennsylvania with the intent to sell her into prostitution.

One confidential informant, a 15-year-old runaway, told investigators that McClain and Barfield forced her to prostitute herself 10 times a day over a month-long period, with a total of 200 men.

McClain and Barfield used websites, including backpage.com, to advertise the prostitution operation, according to the affidavit.

This case is being prosecuted by Northern District of Ohio Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sullivan. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Wickliffe and Mentor police departments.