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Man sentenced in first-ever human trafficking prosecution in Muskegon Co.

Posted at 8:15 PM, Mar 27, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-27 20:15:34-04

Tracy Lockett, courtesy MDOC.

MUSKEGON, Mich. — A man has been sentenced in what the Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office says is the county’s first-ever prosecution for human trafficking.

Tracy Lockett, 44, plead guilty to human trafficking/forced labor after prosecutors say he forced his girlfriend into prostitution to pay for his drug habit. He was sentenced March 14 to serve 3-12 years in prison.

Assistant prosecutor Tim Maat says Lockett’s sentencing is the first time Muskegon County has prosecuted somebody for human trafficking or forced labor. Lockett’s case was initially looked at as domestic violence, but after review, the office pursued the trafficking charge.

Prosecutors say Lockett used threats of violence to get his girlfriend to perform acts of prostitution over the span of two years. The victim was 25 when Lockett was arrested.

According to online jail records, Lockett did a stint in prison in the ’90s after pleading to a charge of negligent homicide. In 2007, he pleaded guilty to a charge of using an illegal financial transaction device. He was released in 2010.