A Portland man who was arrested following a national investigation into commercial child sex trafficking was sentenced Friday to eight months in jail, according to the prosecutor assigned to the case.
Jerome D. Akles, 48, pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court to promoting travel for prostitution following a sting operation by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force on Oct. 9-10.
Akles was among three people in Clark County to be arrested.
Akles took advantage of an In Re: Barr plea, which allows a defendant to plead guilty to a related lesser charge that wasn’t committed in order to avoid conviction for a greater offense, Deputy Prosecutor Patrick Robinson said in an interview. Akles originally faced a charge of second-degree promoting prostitution.
Akles admitted to driving a 22-year-old woman to a location on Northeast 41st Street in Vancouver for the purpose of prostitution, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court. He told police he would baby-sit the woman’s 2-year-old daughter while she performed sexual acts in exchange for money, the affidavit said.
