A Boise man convicted of sex trafficking of a minor learned his fate on Thursday. Michael Wade, 31, will spend the next 20 years behind bars and another 10 years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to the crime this past August.
U.S Attorney Wendy Olson announced both the conviction and sentencing of Wade, saying it is a huge milestone for the state.
"His conviction and sentence mark the first conviction and sentencing in the District of Idaho under the federal sex trafficking statute," Olson said.
It was a law put in place back in 2000 under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which is aimed at curbing sex slavery in the United States.
"Addressing human trafficking and modern day slavery and commercial sex trafficking is one of the highest priorities of the U.S Department of Justice and of this office," Olson said.
The Justice Department and local agencies took a step forward in addressing that issue with the sentencing of Wade. Olson says Wade recruited, enticed, and persuaded a 15-year-old girl into commercial sex in Boise.
"Wade directed the victim to send him photos to post on Backpage.com under escort services," Olson said.
Court documents show Wade continued to recruit the victim and eventually connected her to an adult female, who's described in documents as J.K. Olson says J.K. was arrested by Boise police for prostitution back in December of 2014.
"She admitted that Wade was her pimp and that he directed her to post the victim on the Backpage.com and to transport her to out calls for commercial sex," Olson said.
Wade was arrested in July of 2014 after a two-year long investigation by the FBI, Idaho Department of Correction and the Boise Police Department.