A 35-year-old Smyrna woman will go to prison for her part in human trafficking a 16-year-old girl in the Dover area.
DOVER (DE): A Superior Court judge sentenced Jessica Hutkin to 2 years in prison, followed by 1 year of work release then 2 years of probation. In October 2017, Hutkin pled guilty to Human Trafficking of a Minor and Conspiracy Second Degree.
Hutkin was one of five defendants arrested in May 2017 for their involvement in the trafficking of a 16-year-old girl in the Dover area.
In addition to prison time and probation, Hutkin must register as a Tier II sex offender.
In May 2017, a woman reported her 16-year-old female foster child missing to State Police. The woman also told police that the child may be prostituting through the website, www.backpage.com.
According to police spokesman, Gary Fournier, “Detectives located a listing on the webpage that displayed photographs appearing to be the missing teen and were able to confirm her identity through the foster parent.” Investigators conducted a search of law enforcement records for the phone number listed and were able to link it to Jason Haith, 18 of Dover and his girlfriend, Jessica A. Hutkin, 34 of Smyrna., Fournier said.
On Friday May 19, 2017, a joint operation was coordinated by Troop 3 CIU, FBI Wilmington, and the Delaware Department of Justice.
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Investigators called the phone number listed and arranged a meeting for sexual favors in exchange for compensation at a south Dover motel. At approximately 1:40 p.m. that afternoon, a white 2017 Hyundai Sonata, bearing New York registration, pulled into the motel and the 16-year-old victim was seen exiting the vehicle.
Fournier said, “After the teen exited the vehicle, it departed and troopers conducting a traffic stop on the car. The driver, Jason Haith, and two passengers, Jessica Hutkin and Austin White, 19 of Smyrna, were taken into custody without incident. A computer inquiry revealed the Hyundai Sonata was reported stolen out of Philadelphia on April 6, 2017.”
Further investigation revealed that Haith, Hutkin, and White, along with two other subjects, Donnell Singletary, 32 of Dover, and Taliesha Haith, 34 of Dover, that were taken into custody at Jason Haith’s residence in the 1000 block of East Lebanon Road, allowed each other to utilize their cellular telephones to make cellular calls, send text messages, and/or connect to the internet to arrange prostitution activities for the 16-year-old victim and another 17-year-old victim who was also advertised on www.backpage.com.
Information also suggested that the prostitution activities were coordinated out of the Haith residence located at the East Lebanon Road address.
Jason Haith and Jessica Hutkin were both charged with Human Trafficking – Sexual Servitude, Promoting Prostitution 2nd, Receiving Stolen Property, and Conspiracy 2nd. They were arraigned at JP7 and remanded to the custody of the Delaware Department of Correction on $34,000.00 secured bond.
Taliesha Haith, Donnell Singletary, and Austin White were all charged with Human Trafficking – Sexual Servitude, Promoting Prostitution 2nd, and Conspiracy 2nd. They were all arraigned at JP7 and remanded to the custody of the Delaware Department of Correction on $32,000.00 secured bond.
Donnell Singletary, 33, of Dover pled guilty and was also sentenced to two years in prison previously for Human Trafficking of a Minor and Conspiracy Second Degree, and other defendants in the case are awaiting sentencing.
