Jim Lundi, 38, prostituted a 16-year-old girl in Miami, FL; she was homeless and addicted to drugs. In late February 2020 Jim was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a charge of sex trafficking a minor.
In 2017 Jim used the girl’s vulnerability to force her into the sex business and taught her how to advertise herself on the internet, booked dates for sex with johns, and kept all of the money she made.
Jim met the victim in November 2017. She began living with Jim in an abandoned house.
Shortly thereafter, Jim discussed going into business with the victim. Jim taught the victim how to use websites such as Backpage to advertise sex for money. Jim took nude photographs of the victim and then posted them on various websites including Backpage and listed his phone number in the advertisements as the method of contact, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
Jim set the prices for different sex acts and scheduled dates for the teen girl. Before meeting with a customer, Jim would tell the girl “condoms, money, don’t play games!!”
Jim also would beat the girl with pipes or broomsticks for not making enough money or trying to keep some. In January 2018, Jim took the victim to a motel in Hollywood where they stayed for two weeks.
During this time the victim engaged in commercial sex acts inside the motel room while Jim hid in the closet. Jim then took the victim back to Miami because he wanted to make more money, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The victim eventually got away from Jim and ran into a nearby restaurant — scraped, battered, and without pants. She was then taken to a hospital. Jim was eventually arrested.
Once released from prison Jim will be on supervised release for 25 years and will have to register as a sex offender.
