NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Federal prosecutors have finished their case against a group of nine defendants charged in a conspiracy to commit sexual trafficking of children operated by Somali gangs.
The federal jury could hear closing arguments on Wednesday afternoon after more than two weeks of testimony in the case that spans from Minnesota to Tennessee. Seven of the nine defendants on trial and several key witnesses have been from the Somali refugee communities in Minneapolis and Nashville.
The U.S. Attorney's Office is trying to prove a wide-ranging conspiracy by the gangs to use girls under the age of 18 as prostitutes, but defense attorneys have argued the exact age of the prosecution's main witness, a Somali female identified only as Jane Doe No. 2, is not known because her birth certificate is faked.
Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.
powered by Disqus
Most Popular Stories
Crane accident cuts power to one-third of Vietnam
Goat on the lam snarls NJ's Pulaski Skyway traffic
Ferris wheel ride world record broken in Chicago
Star chef killed over meal
Obama to push for transparency in face of threats
Between economy and trouble, Obama approval steady
Tea party storm largely inside IRS - so far
House to vote on variable rate student loans
GOP questions IRS scrutiny of anti-abortion groups
WVLT VOLUNTEER TV
6450 Papermill Drive Knoxville, TN 37919 (865) 450-8888 - Phone (865) 450-8869 - Fax
Gray Television, Inc. - Copyright © 2002-2013 - Designed by Gray Digital Media - Powered by Clickability
User Agent: CCBot/2.0 - 148941185
