Sex Trafficking of Minors

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. James Coney

Case No.: 22-1429

Officials: Easterbrook, Wood, and Hamilton, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sex Trafficking of Minors

Coney stood condemned on numerous counts concerning the sex trafficking of minors, predicated upon the “compelling and enduring testimony rendered by the six juvenile victims.” Coney neither refuted his association with these young girls nor contested the fact that he had disseminated prostitution advertisements showcasing them on Backpage.com. His counterargument centered on the premise that while the evidence might project the image of his orchestrating a prostitution network, his actual criminal deeds were limited to violent robberies, wherein he exploited the girls to entice men into hotel rooms.

During the jury’s deliberation, both the legal parties and the court recognized an issue with a computer harboring pivotal evidence earmarked for the jury’s consideration – it contained an excessive multitude of files. The court expediently ordered the withdrawal of this computer from the jury room. In parallel, the jury communicated its pronouncement of having reached a verdict. Regrettably, this verdict was neither inspected nor upheld, but rather met its demise. Following a weekend hiatus to address the concern, deliver corrective guidance, and allow further deliberation, the jury reconvened and returned with a unanimous verdict of guilt across all charges.

In rejecting Coney’s plea for a new trial, the district court examined the inadvertently provided evidence and concluded that there was no reasonable probability of it influencing the verdict. The Seventh Circuit upholds this decision, highlighting the substantial weight of evidence pointing toward guilt, while also noting the remote likelihood that jurors had genuinely encountered the disputed messages and images within the extensive exhibits that had been mistakenly provided to them for a brief duration.

Affirmed

Decided 08/04/23

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