Milwaukee Man Sentenced to 45 Years’ Imprisonment for Sex Trafficking
Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on December 17, 2024, Samuel L. Spencer, a.k.a. “Bin Laden” (age: 53), of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, after being convicted at trial of four counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, as well as conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.
The evidence at trial proved that Spencer, a drug dealer, used his access to cocaine and heroin to coerce women struggling with addiction into engaging in commercial sex acts to make money for him. In addition to strategically giving or withholding drugs, Spencer controlled his victims by depriving them of sleep and food, threatening them with firearms, and using extreme physical violence, which included strangling his victims, whipping them with belts, burning their skin, and kidnapping one woman in the trunk of his car after she tried to flee from him. During a two-week trial, the government introduced numerous exhibits that included Spencer’s own words boasting about his crimes and threatening to kill and disfigure his victims.
At the sentencing hearing, Chief United States District Judge Pamela Pepper emphasized that the 15-year duration of Spencer’s conduct was “almost impossible to get your brain around.” Judge Pepper said that the episodes of violence perpetrated by Spencer were some of the worst the court had ever seen. Judge Pepper also underscored the impact of Spencer’s crimes on his victims, emphasizing that Spencer “used force, threats, violence—and sometimes all three” to deprive his victims “of their human agency.”
“For more than 15 years, Samuel Spencer used a combination of violence, threats, forms of torture, manipulation, and financial control to coerce his victims to engage in commercial sex acts for one purpose – to make as much money for him as possible,” stated U.S. Attorney Haanstad. “This cruelty occurred day after day. I commend the relentless work of the investigative and prosecution teams to bring Mr. Spencer to justice, and I commend the courage and resolve of the victims who shared their testimony publicly to ensure that Mr. Spencer could not terrorize additional women in the same manner.”
“Mr. Spencer both physically and mentally harmed and exploited vulnerable women for more than 15 years,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Hensle of the FBI Milwaukee Field Office. “The lengthy sentence issued by the court reflects the heinous nature of these crimes and that behavior of this type will be investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The women and men of the FBI along with our local partners are committed to investigating and obtaining justice for all victims of human trafficking in our Wisconsin communities.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case with the assistance of the Milwaukee Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Erica J. Lounsberry and Julie F. Stewart prosecuted the case.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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