A Mississippi man pleaded guilty today to sex trafficking of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.

According to court documents, Hubert Lee Horton, 43, of Union, Mississippi, communicated with another individual by cell phone for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex with a minor.  Horton asked for and received images of the minor and negotiated the price that he would pay for various sexual acts.

Horton pleaded guilty to a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591(a)(1) which criminalizes the trafficking of a minor child for purposes of engaging in sexual intercourse for money. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 1, 2022 and faces a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Union Police Department, Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, and the FBI are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Kirkham is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.