Columbia, South Carolina — United States Attorney Peter M. McCoy, Jr. announced today that Donnell Salethian Woodard, a / k / a “Tank”, 33, from Columbia, South Carolina, was sentenced today in federal court to 25 years in prison. after pleading guilty in September 2019 to the conspiracy to sex trafficking minors and benefiting from sex trafficking minors.
Evidence presented to the court showed that on November 21, 2017, undercover cops from the Lexington Police Department found a lesser sex in advertising through a website. An undercover officer made an appointment to meet the boy at a local motel, where police officers watched the boy being dropped by Woodard and India Tykeyah-Najee Cuyler, a / k / a 26-year-old “Lady Tank,”. The officers put both Woodard and Cuyler under arrest. The investigation led to another nearby motel, where a second minor, who was also involved in the illegal venture, was located. The investigation revealed that Woodard and Cuyler were using a cell phone to post commercial sex ads with minors on a website and taking a share of the profits. Woodard and Cuyler were federally charged.
During the sentence, United States District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs also ordered Woodard to make restitution to the victims involved. After serving his prison sentence, Woodard will be under supervised release for 15 years and is expected to register as a sex offender.
Co-defendant India Cuyler had previously pleaded guilty in federal court to using an interstate commerce facility (a cell phone) to attract a child under 18 to engage in sexual activity. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 17, 2021.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Lexington Police Department and the West Columbia Police Department and prosecuted by the United States assistant attorney, Stacey D. Haynes.
It was brought as part of the Safe Childhood Project, a national initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, Project Safe Childhood mobilizes federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children over the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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