Federal judge sentences Chicago man to 40 years in prison for sex trafficking multiple children

CHICAGO — A federal judge has sentenced a Chicago man to 40 years in prison for recruiting multiple children to perform sex acts for money.

LENNIE PERRY trafficked at least seven minors under the age of 18. One of his victims was under the age of 14 when Perry forced her to participate in a commercial sex act. Perry used websites such as Backpage and Facebook to advertise commercial sex acts and recruit the young victims to work for him. Perry also required each of his victims to have sex with him before he would traffic them to others. Perry arranged for the victims to meet individuals for the commercial sex acts at hotels and residences in Illinois, Minnesota, and Mississippi.

Perry, 49, was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking charges. Six of Perry’s victims testified at the trial about their ordeals.

In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang on Wednesday ordered Perry to pay $523,600 in restitution to his victims.

The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Lucas Rothaar, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Chicago Field Office. The case was investigated by the FBI Chicago Child Exploitation Task Force. Valuable assistance was provided by the Chicago Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations.

“The defendant’s actions have created a trauma for the victims that is impossible to truly understand,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Mulaney argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Human traffickers operating today should be told that if you traffic children in the Chicagoland area, you will receive the most severe punishment the law can provide.”

If you believe you have been a victim of sexual exploitation, we encourage you to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by calling 1-800-843-5678 or by logging onto www.cybertipline.com.