A father and son were convicted by a jury in June on attempted enticement of a teen-age girl into sex trafficking in National City.
The U.S. District Court jury deliberated six hours over two days before convicting Conoly Freddie Franklin III, 51, and his son, Andre Anthony Franklin, 25.
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 a computer.
Judge William Hayes set sentencing for Sept. 9 in San Diego. Both men are from Reno, Nevada.
The jury also convicted Conoly Franklin of attempted enticement of an adult who was also an undercover officer in Napa County. 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.
Andre Franklin discussed performing commercial sex acts and the price that would be charged in text messages that were admitted as evidence.
“Thanks to the efforts of dedicated officers with the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force and Napa County Special Investigations Bureau and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katie McGrath, Eric Roscoe and Mark Conniver, these defendants’ devious plans were thwarted in their tracks,” said Brewer.
Both men were acquitted by the same jury of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of children, according to court records.
Conoly Franklin faces a maximum 20-year term in federal prison and his son could get a maximum 10-year term. They were both arrested Aug. 31, 2018, in the parking lot of the Ramada Inn in National City.
They both remain in the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
