Teen pimp found guilty of human trafficking

A King County jury has returned six guilty verdicts against DeShawn "Cash Money" Clark, a 19-year-old pimp who now has the dubious distinction of being the first person in the state to be convicted at trial of human-trafficking charges.

The jury of four women and eight men found Clark guilty this afternoon of six of nine charges he faced, including one of two counts of second-degree human trafficking.

A sentencing date has not been set.

Clark, who took the stand in his own defense last week at the end of his seven-week trial, denied he was a member of West Side Street Mobb, but acknowledged it is, in fact, a gang — something his attorney, Alfoster Garrett Jr., had initially set out to prove was merely a "clique" of young men who'd grown up together in the same West Seattle neighborhood.

Mobb is an acronym for Money Over Broke Bitches, according to prosecutors.

The jury heard testimony that members of the gang were focused on money and several had tattoos depicting a money bag. Though Clark does not have the money bag tattoo, he has the name "Cash Money" tattooed across his knuckles. But two of the women Clark pimped out have the moneybag tattoos, and tattoos bearing the name "Cash," according to testimony.

In reaching its verdicts, the jury considered the testimony of more than 50 witnesses — half of them law enforcement officers — and 300 exhibits, that were submitted as evidence, in a trial that lasted longer than many homicide trials.

The jury found Clark not guilty of three charges: one count of second-degree human trafficking, one count of second-degree assault and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

In addition to the single count of second-degree human trafficking, Clark was also convicted of two counts of promoting the commercial sex-abuse of a minor, and one count each of first-degree promoting prostitution, unlawful imprisonment and criminal conspiracy to promote prostitution. The state Legislature created a new law to punish human trafficking in 2003. To prove his case, King County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Sean O'Donnell had to convince jurors that the young women Clark pimped out were involved in forced labor or involuntary servitude.

During his closing statements, O'Donnell told jurors that to find Clark guilty of human trafficking, they had to decide he knew he would use force against the women to secure their compliance, even if he didn't have to use force when recruiting them to work as prostitutes.

Before Clark's trial began in October, five co-defendants involved in the West Side Street Mobb's prostitution enterprise pleaded guilty to a variety of prostitution charges, including Clark's older brother, Shawn Clark.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com