Brooklyn Park man sentenced in Washington County to 16 years for sex trafficking

A Brooklyn Park man has been sentenced to more than 16 years in prison after pleading guilty in Washington County District Court to trafficking a 29-year-old woman for sex.

James E. Williams, 42, was caught driving the woman to a Woodbury apartment where undercover officers had set up a sting operation. While he was in jail awaiting trial, Williams called the woman repeatedly, despite a no-contact order, and instructed her to erase incriminating text messages.

Williams, also known as James E. Walton, was sentenced by Washington County District Judge Juanita Freeman. He has previous convictions for sex trafficking, false imprisonment, violation of a no-contact order, burglary and felony domestic assault.

"That sentence may seem high to some, but the defendant admitted to extreme exploitation of human beings for his own profit," said Washington County Attorney Pete Orput.

Authorities were first alerted to the case by a man who said his wallet had been stolen by a woman he had met on Tinder after spending time with her at a Woodbury hotel. Suspecting that the case involved prostitution, authorities referred the case to the East Metro Human Trafficking Taskforce.

The woman's phone number was found on numerous online advertisements for prostitution, and social media and video evidence showed that Williams and the woman were connected. When an undercover officer texted the woman on Oct. 29, 2020, to arrange for commercial sex, Williams was arrested shortly after dropping her off.

Williams was held at the Washington County jail, where his phone calls were monitored. Despite a no-contact order barring him from contacting the woman he was accused of trafficking, he called her more than 30 times from jail to tell her to destroy evidence and not to cooperate with any court proceedings.