Former Marine drugged and prostituted hundreds of women

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    JACKSONVILLE, Onslow County, North Carolina (WLOS) — A former Marine drugged and prostituted hundreds of women in Jacksonville and the greater Onslow County area. Earlier this month, Jesse Marks, 40, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Blondel said Marks used his experience as a veteran to teach his victims how to get Marines to either buy drugs or prostitution.

Marks used heroin and methamphetamine to keep victims dependent on him and trapped in a lifestyle of addiction. Multiple investigations into his possession of these drugs originally brought Marks to the attention of law enforcement.

As for the other Marines and military dependents involved in Marks’ operations, Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Sean Devinny said there is some evidence that a few active-duty service members are in, or have been in, communication with Marks; that information is being sent to Marine Corps and Navy investigations teams to be looked into further.

He was sentenced earlier this month to 30 years in prison and is now in federal custody.

As part of his plea deal, drug possession charges were dropped, but he must pay around $250,000 in restitution to several victims.

Colonel Chris Thomas with the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office said sex trafficking impacts the entire community.

Last year, Thomas said there were more than 300 human trafficking cases and 266 the year before. Nationwide, he said there were over 2,000 cases reported, and 1,600 of those were sex-trafficking cases.

“When I say 1,600 cases, I don’t mean 1,600 individuals,” he explained, “I mean 1,600 suspects, suspect organizations that can have as many as 300 to 600 victims. So, we’re talking about a tremendous amount of victims here.”

Thomas said there were more than 708 offenders arrested throughout the U.S. last year.

Investigators on the case and those who work with victims say human and sex trafficking is really a form of modern-day slavery, is a type of abuse that’s hard to escape, and it happens much more often than many may think.

North Carolina ranks top 10 in the nation for reports of human trafficking, and she said these are victims that face unimaginable physical and emotional abuse.

“I couldn’t even tell you the things that they’ve gone through with him because it wouldn’t be fair for anybody to hear that,” she said.

Klein is part of an organization that works directly with victims of human and sex trafficking, including those directly abused by Jesse Marks. She said the numbers don’t do the reality of the issue justice.

Bringing abusers like Jesse Marks to justice, though, can provide a sense of closure for victims and give them hope that more will be held accountable.

The National Human Trafficking Hotline is: (888)373-7888.

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