DETROIT—In January, after former adult performer Sierra Sanchez pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Detroit to one count of persuading or enticing someone to engage in prostitution, Judge Arthur Tarnow said of the sentence he would impose at a later date, "I have no idea what my sentencing is going to be because I don't know a lot about you."
Sanchez was indicted along with three others last summer for her role working for the Miami Companions escort service. Miami Companions was taken down last July by the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office, which called it one of the largest escort services in the country. Based in Miami, the ring sent prostitutes to hotels and beachfront villas around the world. Detroit, according to prosecutors, was one of its busiest destinations in the States.
Sanchez could have received up to 18 months for her role in the operation, but today, after successfully pleading for leniency before Tarnow during her sentencing hearing, she was given two years of supervised release.
According to the Detroit Free Press, “[Sanchez], 25, said that her current life in Florida is vastly different. She now works at a chicken wing restaurant and is studying to earn an adult high school diploma. She’s also around ‘normal’ young people now, she said, who have educations and come from good families.”
Fighting back tears, Sanchez told the judge, “I have a plan. And every day I wake up in the morning, I don’t want to go back to what I was doing.”
Tarnow took her at her word. “I don’t think that there’s any question that you’re not going to give up your new goals, and go back to where you were. I believe you when you say you’ve found hope,” he said, adding later, “I hope I’ll never see you again.”
Sanchez is the first to be sentenced of the four people charged in relation to Miami Companions. Gregory Carr, the alleged ringleader, faces 21-27 months in prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced May 12. The Free Press reported that his lawyer is seeking probation.
“Carr ran the escort service with his now ex-wife, Laurie Carr, who pleaded guilty in October to helping run the agency and is cooperating with authorities," the paper reported. “She is awaiting sentencing. Another woman, Michelle Matarazzo, who handled travel plans for the call girls, pleaded guilty and also is awaiting sentencing.”
