A 35-year-old Washington state man was sentenced this week in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 11 years in prison for sex trafficking of a minor, Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller announced in a news release.
Dominique Terrel Gonzales has been in federal custody since his arrest for illegal firearms possession in August 2020. He had residences in Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, as well as short-term rental homes on the East Coast, the news release from the United States Department of Justice stated.
“For years this defendant used violence, threats and emotional coercion to force vulnerable young women into having sex with strangers and giving their earnings to him,” Miller said. “He preyed upon teenagers and young women who were insecure and estranged from their families. To maintain control over his victims, Gonzales physically beat them, verbally assaulted them and forced them to install tracking programs on their cellphones so that he could follow their every move. He used whatever means necessary to ensure that his victims engaged in prostitution to fund his luxurious lifestyle.”
“Today’s sentence holds the defendant accountable for the criminal conduct he perpetrated for years within the Western District of Washington,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Predators who target and coerce the vulnerable face appropriately serious sanctions under federal law, and the Justice Department will continue to seek significant sentences to vindicate the rights of human trafficking victims.”
Law enforcement in Idaho, Southwest Washington and Seattle investigated the case. According to records in the case, in August 2020, Gonzales trafficked a juvenile female, causing her to engage in commercial sex acts. Gonzales transported the girl across state lines to Portland for her to engage in commercial sex acts.
The investigation revealed that between 2016 and 2019, Gonzales also forced four adult women to work for him as prostitutes. Many of the victims met Gonzales through online dating apps. After he lured them in, he put them to work doing sex acts with strangers, the news release stated. Gonzales arranged the “dates” and forced the women to turn over any money they earned.
At the time of his arrest, Gonzales illegally possessed a Desert Eagle 9 mm semi-automatic pistol and ammunition. Three felony convictions prohibit him from possessing firearms: Two counts of second-degree assault (domestic violence) from August 2014 in King County Superior Court and one count of unlawful imprisonment (domestic violence) from the same incident.
“Today’s sentencing is a powerful reminder that those who prey on vulnerable children through violence and exploitation will be held fully accountable,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Seattle Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Murphy. “This individual used force and coercion to rob a minor of their freedom and dignity, and justice has now been served. This outcome was made possible through the unwavering collaboration with our law enforcement partners across multiple jurisdictions, whose dedication and coordination were vital to this investigation. We remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting victims, dismantling trafficking networks, and ensuring that those responsible face the full weight of the law.”
Judge Settle ordered that Gonzales be on supervised release for 15 years following his prison term. Restitution for the victims will be determined at a hearing in August 2025.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Olympia Police Department, the Vancouver Police Department, Idaho State Police, the Ada County (Idaho) Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Countering Human Trafficking.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Crisham for the Western District of Washington and trial attorney Jessica Arco of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit prosecuted the case.
