Woman Pleads Guilty to Attempted Sex Trafficking of a Minor

On Friday in federal court, a 33-year-old Minneapolis woman pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of a minor.

Kimberly Susan Latham, who was indicted on Jan. 19, entered her plea before United States District Court Judge Ann D. Montgomery.

In her plea agreement, Latham admitted that in November of 2011, she met two young women, reportedly ages 17 and 18, and invited them to stay with her in her Minnetonka apartment.

She then asked the 17-year-old minor to engage in commercial sex acts and used the apartment for that purpose. Latham also used the Internet and cell phones to advertise the services. Because of her sex trafficking activity, Latham admittedly received financial benefit.

For her crime, Latham faces a sentence of a minimum of ten years to a maximum penalty of life in prison. Judge Montgomery will determine her sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Minnetonka Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Steinkamp.

Last month, Yuri Fedotov, the head of the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crime reported to those attending a U.N. General Assembly meeting that an estimated 2.4 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking at any one time, with 80 percent of them being exploited as sex slaves. He also said approximately $32 billion is earned collectively every year by the criminals who operate human trafficking networks. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked within the U.S. alone each year.