Las Vegas, Nevada - A Las Vegas resident - charged in a 10-count indictment with coercing underage girls via Facebook to work as prostitutes for him - made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court Monday, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich of the District of Nevada.

“Our office is honored to support Nevada law enforcement’s continued efforts to crack down on human trafficking rings and bring traffickers to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Trutanich. “We remain committed to using all available tools to combat human trafficking and help survivors.”

In October 2020, a federal grand jury indicted Denzel Renyal Michael Loyd, 35, of Las Vegas, with four counts of coercion and enticement; three counts of sexual exploitation of a child; one count of transfer of obscene material to minor; one count of sex trafficking of children; and one count of possession of child pornography. Loyd appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cam Ferenbach, who ordered him to be detained in federal custody pending a jury trial.

As alleged, from February 5, 2020 to March 9, 2020, Loyd coerced and enticed four underage victims via Facebook to engage in prostitution for him. The indictment further alleges that Loyd sent obscene material to a victim, and that he possessed child pornography on his cell phone.

The minimum statutory penalty for coercion and enticement is 10 years in prison; the minimum statutory penalty for sexual exploitation of children is 15 years in person, with a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison; the minimum statutory penalty for sex trafficking of a child is 10 years in prison; the maximum statutory penalty for sending obscene material to a minor is 10 years in prison; and the maximum statutory penalty is 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography.

The charges resulted from an investigation by the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Supriya Prasad is prosecuting the case.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If you have information regarding possible child sexual exploitation, please make a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by calling the 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or by making a report at www.cybertipline.com.

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