Springfield man, woman sentenced for sex trafficking child

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield man and woman were sentenced in federal court today for the sex trafficking of a child.

Joseph W. Gibson, 43, and Danna Marie Rodriguez, 37, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes. Gibson was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison without parole, followed by 25 years of supervised release. Rodriguez was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole, followed by 25 years of supervised release.

Gibson and Rodriguez each pleaded guilty to one count of the sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of the sex trafficking of a minor.

Gibson and Rodriguez admitted they sex trafficked a 15-year-old female, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe 1.” They also asked the child victim to recruit some of her friends to participate, but her friends refused to be involved.

Rodriguez took sexually explicit photos of Jane Doe 1, which she sent to Gibson. Gibson and Rodriguez gave ecstasy and marijuana to the child victim prior to her meeting an unidentified man for sex at a local hotel, for which the child victim was paid $70. Gibson and Rodriguez kept the rest of the payment.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, and the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.