Sex Trafficker sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison

United States Attorney Beth Drake announces that 33-year-old Alandis Patterson, a/k/a “Vino,” of Greenville was sentenced in federal court in Greenville for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by means of force and threats of force. United States District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks of Charleston sentenced Patterson to 240 months imprisonment, followed by a life term of supervised release, and $50,000 in restitution to the victim. Evidence presented at the change of plea and sentencing hearings established that Patterson exploited an 18-year-old girl, getting her hooked on cocaine and heroin, and beating her on an almost a daily basis to force her to have sex with numerous “Johns” a night from 2013 through the late fall of 2015. Patterson would beat the victim when he believed she wanted to leave, when she did not make enough money, or if he believed she was taking any of the money because 100% of the prostitution proceeds went to him. While Patterson did not use heroin himself, rather he used the drug to control the victim, making her “into a slave” for him. Patterson discussed the tactic with another pimp, explaining that girls were easier to control when they were addicted to drugs. The victim was finally able to break free from the defendant when he went to jail for a short time on unrelated charges, and she was able to withdraw from heroin. When the defendant got out of jail, shortly thereafter, she told him that she was leaving him for the last time. On that day, Patterson beat and choked the victim so severely she had to be treated in the hospital for bruises and swelling to her head and body and a possible concussion. Ms. Drake stated, “The first step to eradicating human trafficking is to hold the traffickers accountable. While the defendant in this case threatened the victim by telling her his name, ‘VINO,’ stood for ‘Vengeance Is Never Over,’ the sentence in this case sends a clear message to the contrary: ‘the Violence Is Now Over.’ Those who traffic in sex need to take notice that our office, along with our federal and state law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute all those who operate in this destructive field.” The case was investigated by agents of the FBI, ATF, City of Spartanburg Police Department, Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, and Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Jamie Lea Schoen and Carrie Fisher Sherard of the Greenville Office prosecuted the case.