A father and son who were convicted of attempted enticement of a teen-age girl into sex trafficking in National City have each been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
U.S. District Court Judge William Hayes imposed the mandatory minimum sentences to Conoly Freddie Franklin III, 51, and his son, Andre Anthony Franklin, 25.
Both men will have to register as sex offenders in whatever community they reside after their release. Both are from Reno, Nevada. They also were required to give a DNA sample.
The prosecutor sought a 168-month term for Conoly Franklin and 151-month sentence for his son. Defense attorneys asked for no more time than the mandatory minimum sentence which was 10 years.
The jury that convicted them on June 10, 2019 deliberated six hours over two days.
The person both men were communicating with was actually an undercover sheriff’s deputy in San Diego on Aug. 22, 2018. It was alleged they both believed they were contacting a 17-year-old girl on Facebook.
Excerpts of what they wrote on Facebook’s Messenger page were given to the jury. Andre Franklin discussed the price the girl would pay to work for him and he also wrote about her performing commercial sex acts.
The jury also convicted Conoly Franklin of attempted enticement of an adult who was also an undercover officer in Napa County who posed as a 16-year-old girl online. Conoly Franklin wrote messages saying he had obtained a vehicle to pick up both girls to work as prostitutes in National City, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“The cavalier sex trafficking of children triggers traumas that can affect victims for decades,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer, Jr. in a statement.
Both men were acquitted by the same jury of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of children.
They were both arrested Aug. 31, 2018, in the parking lot of the Ramada Inn in National City. They will get credit for the 1 1/2 years they spent in the Metropolitan Correctional Center since their arrests.
