‘Violent’ Washington pimp who trafficked teens, young women sentenced to prison

A man from Washington was sentenced to prison for trafficking teen girls and young women.

Dominique Terrel Gonzales, 35, will spend 11 years in prison for sex trafficking of a minor, according to a news release Monday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

The attorney’s office stated Gonzales forced young women into prostitution and operated in residences in Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver, Washington, along with different short-term rental homes on the East Coast.

“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,” Acting U.S. Attorney Miller said, via the release. “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.”

Woman met Washington pimp on dating apps, where he promised relationship

According to the attorney’s office, citing records in the case, Gonzales trafficked a juvenile to Portland, Oregon, causing her to engage in commercial sex acts in August 2020.

From 2016 to 2019, Gonzales forced four women to work for him as prostitutes. According to the attorney’s office, one of the victims was lured from her home in Idaho. Many of the women met Gonzales through online dating apps, where he promised romantic relationships but instead coerced them into engaging in sex acts, using threats of violence to force them to hand over the money they earned.

“(Gonzales) engaged in monstrous activity that profoundly affected a number of people,” U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said, as stated in the release. “In many ways, your victims have lifetime sentences as a result of the harm you’ve caused. It is hard to overstate the human suffering and damage. The victims in this case go beyond those that you abused. You can see how profoundly your actions have affected their families.”

The attorney’s office stated Gonzales has been in federal custody since 2020, when he was arrested for illegally possessing a firearm.

After Gonzales’ 11 years in prison, Settle ordered supervised release for the following 15 years.

Law enforcement in Seattle, Southwest Washington, and Idaho investigated the case.

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