Ex-Washington DC police officer who is of Nigerian descent bags 14 years in jail for sex trafficking

A former Washington D.C. police officer, who is of Nigerian descent, has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for sex trafficking.

29-year-old Chukwuemeka Ekwonna pleaded guilty to paying two teenage girls for sex while he was employed as a police officer in Washington, D.C. 

U.S. Attorney Robert Hur’s office said Ekwonna exchanged more than 250 text messages and social media messages with two girls, ages 14 and 15, and paid both for sex. Ekwonna was charged in April 2017 with soliciting sex from a 15-year-old girl in Glen Burnie and then robbing her at gunpoint.

A statement from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland stated: “Specifically, between October 2016 and February 2017, Ekwonna, who was an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in Washington, D.C. at the time, engaged in sexual conduct with two girls, who were 14 and 15 years old, in exchange for money. Both victims were students in the ninth grade at the time of the offenses.”

It added: “Between December 19, 2016, and April 5, 2017, Ekwonna exchanged approximately 200 messages, both text and through the social media dating platform, with a 14-year-old girl (“Girl 1”).”

The Department of Justice release said: “On several occasions, Ekwonna offered to pay Girl 1 to engage in sex acts with him. Ekwonna met with Girl 1 and engaged in sex acts with her on at least five occasions, between October 18, 2016, and February 15, 2017. Ekwonna engaged in illegal sex with the underage girl in different locations in the Annapolis area, including in motel rooms and Ekwonna’s vehicle. Ekwonna typically paid Girl 1 between $30 and $40 to have sex with him. Messages between Ekwonna and the 14-year-old girl suggest that she was aware that Ekwonna was a police officer.

It added: “On January 9, 2017, Ekwonna exchanged approximately 54 messages through the dating platform with a second underage girl, who was 15 years old at the time (“Girl 2”).

The release also said: “In these messages, Ekwonna offered to pay the 15-year-old girl to engage in sex acts with him. Ekwonna met Girl 2 in Glen Burnie, where he gave her $80 and engaged in sex acts with her in the back of his car. According to Girl 2’s testimony at the sentencing hearing, after they had sex, Ekwonna locked her in the car, pointed a black handgun at her and demanded she return the money he had paid her. As part of his sentence, Ekwonna was ordered to pay $80 in restitution to the victim. His car and his black police-issued handgun were ordered forfeited to the government.”

A federal judge Tuesday sentenced 29-year-old Chukwuemeka Ekwonna to 14 years in federal prison and also to five years of supervised release after his prison term.