Edward Walker Facing Life in Prison for Sex Trafficking During Super Bowl 54

The Department of Justice announced Friday that Edward Walker of Connecticut was found guilty of bringing two adult women and a 17-year-old girl to Miami in February 2020 for the purpose of sex trafficking during the NFL's Super Bowl LIV week.

A federal jury in Florida found Walker, 48, guilty of sex trafficking by force and coercion, sex trafficking of a minor by force and coercion, and transporting a person for sexual activity.

He faces life in prison at sentencing in January.

Evidence presented during the case, which was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Florida, showed Walker had plans to take the women to other places after the Super Bowl to "further sexually exploit them."

Walker's other planned destinations included Chicago for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game, New Orleans for Mardi Gras and Las Vegas.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alejandra L. Lopez and Brian Dobbins said Walker "emotionally, psychologically and financially coerced the victims into soliciting customers and having sex with them" and kept all of the money for himself.

The case's investigation was handled by the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.

In 2019, the Polaris Project reported 11,500 instances of human trafficking affecting over 22,000 survivors and involving nearly 4,400 alleged traffickers.

The Department of Justice asked anyone with information about suspected human trafficking to call 1-888-373-7888.