The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today Fredrick Brown, 35, of Monroe County, was indicted on Dec. 19, 2017, by a federal grand jury on sex and drug trafficking charges.

According to Attorney David J. Freed, the indictment was unsealed on Dec. 20 and alleges that between 2011-14 Brown trafficked multiple women as prostitutes through force, threat and coercion. One of the victims Brown is alleged to have forced to commit commercial sex acts was under the age of 18. The indictment further charges Brown with distribution and possession with intent to distribute over 280 grams of cocaine base, or “crack.”

The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean A. Camoni.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”