Four individuals sentenced for sex trafficking, sexual exploitation of children; prosecution of these crimes up 85%

SAN DIEGO - Four defendants from unrelated cases were sentenced in federal court in San Diego yesterday, June 20, for sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of children.

Tyson Lee Channell, 29, was sentenced by District Judge Anthony Battaglia to 10 years in prison, followed by 10 years' supervised release, for acting as a pimp to a 14-year-old girl he had taken to Las Vegas to work as a prostitute.

Channell pleaded guilty in April 2013 to transporting a minor to engage in prostitution.

James Michael DiSalvo, 55, was sentenced to nine years in custody by District Judge Gonzalo Curiel for his guilty plea in February to distributing child pornography.

Jamal Leland Landrum, 26, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by Battaglia for his guilty plea in June 2013 to sex trafficking of a 15-year-old girl in El Cajon.

Christopher Wissmath, 36, was sentenced by District Judge Jeffrey Miller to 30 months in custody and seven years' supervised release for his guilty plea in October 2013 to transmitting information about a minor with intent to entice the victim.

The number of defendants prosecuted for child sex crimes in the Southern District of California has increased 85 percent in the last five years, from 61 in 2009 to 113 in 2013, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego.

The cases stem from Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative begun in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse via the Internet.