Man convicted in sex trafficking case tied to WA used brutal control of women to fuel lavish life
Mar 20, 2026, 5:00 AM | Updated: 11:14 am
The Department of Justice seal is seen during a news conference at the DOJ office. (Photo courtesy of The Associated Press)
(Photo courtesy of The Associated Press)
A California man has been convicted on federal sex trafficking charges in Seattle. Prosecutors said he used “fists, lies, and manipulation to get vulnerable women to support his lavish lifestyle.” That lifestyle included a Bentley wrapped in gold.
Brandon Washington, 33, was convicted Wednesday of six federal felonies tied to a multi-state trafficking operation, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
Prosecutors said victims testified that Washington moved them through several states — including Washington, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Hawaii — between 2014 and 2021.
After a four-week trial and three days of deliberation, the jury convicted him of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion; one count of sex trafficking by fraud and coercion; and four counts of transporting women for the purpose of prostitution through coercion and enticement.
The attorney’s office noted that sex trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion is punishable by a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison. Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion is punishable by up to life imprisonment. Transporting a victim for prostitution is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
In court, prosecutors said women who managed to escape were left with nothing. They also said Washington obtained a $120,000 Bentley through one victim and had it wrapped in gold.
“Washington was charged with trafficking four different women,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “The jury was unable to reach a verdict on three other counts of sex trafficking.”
According to a news release from Washington’s attorney, Emily Gause, “the outcome underscores the substantial weaknesses in the Government’s theory and the credibility concerns surrounding key witnesses.”
“From the outset, Mr. Washington has maintained that he never forced any woman to do anything,” the release said. “That position was reinforced at trial. Of the six women called by the Government and labeled as ‘victims,’ three made clear that Mr. Washington never forced them to engage in sex work, and they did not agree that they were a ‘victim’ of anything.”
Gause said five more women who worked with Washington said the same thing.
“Eight women testified that while Mr. Washington assisted with aspects of their escort businesses, he did not use force, threats, or coercion,” the release said.
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At trial, four named victims testified. According to the release, some of them described brutal assaults and threats he used to control them and other women. They earned him hundreds of thousands of dollars through commercial sex acts, according to the release.
“When women were finally able to get free from his control, they left without any of the money they had earned,” the release stated. “Evidence at trial showed that Washington used his victims’ earnings to fund his lifestyle, including luxury apartments in downtown Seattle, Bellevue, Las Vegas, and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, designer clothes, fine dining, and luxury vehicles.”
Prosecutors presented text messages and social media messages in which Washington described the money he took from women he controlled.
“In those messages, he also discussed the violence he used to control them and the manipulation and promises he used to recruit other victims,” the release stated. “In some text messages, Washington stated that he was searching for victims with low self-esteem or who were otherwise particularly vulnerable targets whom he could force and manipulate into sex work.”
Washington is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18, 2026.
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
