FOR IMMEIDATE RELEASE
AUGUST 14, 2018
Portland man receives 10 year prison sentence for sex trafficking 13 year old female
Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced Tracy Scott Walls, 55, pleaded no contest to one count of compelling prostitution and one count of promoting prostitution.
According to previously filed court documents, in July 2016, Walls was the sex trafficker of a 13 year old female. Furthermore, he gave the minor methamphetamine to control her, and on multiple occasions engaged in sexual intercourse and oral sex with her. The defendant met the vulnerable victim on the streets, took her to meet his parents, rented a motel room for her to stay with him and negotiated with sex buyers so they could engage in illegal sexual contact with the minor. One such instance occurred in a car, and there was an exchange of money. The victim was not allowed to leave while being trafficked. She reported seeing Walls with a gun, which increased her fear of being seriously injured if she fled.
Tuesday’s plea and sentencing was heavily negotiated and included multiple judicial settlement conferences with the Court.
Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth R. Walker, who presided over the hearing, called the settlement a “reasonable resolution” and told Walls, “I hope that this is the final wake-up call for you.”
The victim in the case was made aware of the plea negotiations. She is supportive of Tuesday’s judgement.
Walls will have to register as a sex offender. Upon his release from prison, he will serve three years of post-prison supervision.
This case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau’s Human Trafficking Unit in close collaboration with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office’s Human Trafficking Team. Senior Deputy District Attorney J.R. Ujifusa prosecuted the case.
The Portland Police Bureau and Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office want to remind the community that human trafficking is not a victimless crime. Victims of sex trafficking are forced, coerced, and manipulated into this lifestyle against their will. They are forced to suffer through physical, sexual, and mental abuse.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office’s Human Trafficking Team works to protect victims utilizing a three-prong approach: (1) aggressively prosecuting those who traffic victims to sex buyers; (2) reducing demand for exploitation in all forms to include a dedicated focus on a reduction of sex buyers; and (3) ensuring adequate protection and support for victims of human trafficking.
To learn more about the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office’s Human Trafficking Team, please click here.
If you are, or know of, a child or adult victim of human sex trafficking and need immediate assistance, call 9-1-1.
#MCDA#
Contact: Brent Weisberg, Communications Director
Phone: 503.988.6567
Email: Brent.Weisberg@mcda.us