## Facts

- A jury convicted McKenzie J. Carson of four counts of sex trafficking under 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a): three involving adult victims (force, threats, or coercion) and one involving a 17-year-old victim, Kaitlin Fratto.
- Fratto was recruited through Christopher Richardson to work for Carson’s escort business; Richardson repeatedly warned Carson that Fratto was 17.
- At a motel meeting, Carson raped Fratto and threatened to kill her if she reported it; he later photographed Fratto and another woman and used the photos to advertise commercial sex on Backpage.com.
- Carson arranged commercial sex transactions for Fratto and others and threatened Richardson and his family over money and control of the victims.
- Adult victims testified Carson used drugs, violence, rape, threats, isolation, surveillance, and financial control to compel commercial sex acts; one victim described being tracked via GPS and being prevented from leaving a hotel room.
- The government presented expert testimony about common control methods used in sex trafficking.
- The district court sentenced Carson to 47 years’ imprisonment (below the advisory guideline recommendation of life).

## Issues

1. Whether excluding evidence that certain victims engaged in prostitution before meeting Carson was error affecting elements of § 1591(a).
2. Whether limiting cross-examination of Richardson violated the Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause.
3. Whether admitting evidence of uncharged abusive conduct was improper under Federal Rules of Evidence 404(b) and 403.
4. Whether an erroneous jury instruction on “reckless disregard” under § 1591(a) required reversal.

## Decision

- The Seventh Circuit affirmed Carson’s convictions and sentence.
- The exclusion of victims’ prior prostitution history was upheld as irrelevant to whether Carson used, or knew would be used, force, threats, fraud, or coercion in the charged conduct.
- Limits on cross-examination of Richardson were upheld because the jury received sufficient information to assess bias and motive, satisfying the Confrontation Clause.
- Evidence of uncharged conduct was admissible as intrinsic to the trafficking scheme or, alternatively, under Rule 404(b) to show intent, knowledge, and method of operation; Rule 403 did not require exclusion.
- Although part of the “reckless disregard” instruction was erroneous, the error was harmless given overwhelming evidence and a correct “knowingly” instruction.

## Legal Principles

- Under 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a), the key inquiry is whether the defendant acted knowingly, or in reckless disregard, that force, threats, fraud, or coercion would be used to cause a commercial sex act (or that the victim was a minor), not whether the victim previously engaged in prostitution.
- The Confrontation Clause guarantees an opportunity for effective cross-examination sufficient to expose potential bias; trial courts may impose reasonable limits without violating the Constitution.
- Evidence intertwined with the charged trafficking conduct may be treated as intrinsic and admissible without Rule 404(b); if analyzed under Rule 404(b), it may be admitted for non-propensity purposes such as intent, knowledge, and method of operation, subject to Rule 403 balancing.
- Instructional error is reviewed for harmlessness; reversal is not required when a correct alternative instruction supports the verdict and the evidence makes it unlikely the error affected the outcome.

## Conclusion

The court upheld Carson’s sex-trafficking convictions, concluding that the challenged evidentiary rulings fell within the district court’s discretion and that any misstatement in the “reckless disregard” instruction did not prejudice the verdict because the record showed strong proof of knowing trafficking through force, threats, and coercion, including trafficking of a minor.


United States v. Carson, 870 F.3d 584 (7th Cir. 2017)