Former Pennsylvania State Trooper Convicted

Martin C. Carlson, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that yesterday a federal jury convicted Shawn Dillard, formerly a trooper with the Pennsylvania State Police, of having corrupted his public office by aiding and abetting a nationwide prostitution ring, obstructing a federal grand jury investigation and lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

At the time of the offense, Shawn Dillard was a trooper for the Pennsylvania State Police, stationed at Troop H, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. One of his duties as a trooper was to conduct anti-prostitution patrols at, among other places, the Gables Truck Stop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In March 2004, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Department of the Treasury commenced a grand jury investigation, code-named “Precious Cargo,” into the nationwide prostitution of minors and adult young women. The “Precious Cargo” investigation identified numerous pimps, primarily from Toledo, Ohio, who were running a nationwide prostitution ring out of the Gables Truck Stop, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.

The defendant would warn those involved in prostitution about undercover law enforcement activity and law enforcement sweeps (that is, arrests) at the Gables Truck Stop at the Manada Hill exit at the intersection of Route 81 and Route 39. Additionally, Dillard, under color of the authority of his position as a member of the Pennsylvania State Police, took a young woman being prostituted at the Gables Truck Stop into custody and offered, in exchange for sexual favors, to reduce the charges against her. He also took money from a young woman being prostituted at the Gables Truck Stop and took young women being prostituted at the Gables Truck Stop into custody and offered, in exchange for money and sexual favors, to not make a formal arrest. Instead, the defendant released them.

The most serious offense involved passing sensitive law enforcement information to the women who were being prostituted, who would in turn notify their pimps and were thus able to avoid being arrested and prosecuted. Wiretaps picked up conversations between pimps discussing and evaluating information about undercover operations that Trooper Dillard had passed to them through the women with whom he was involved.

As the direct result of the defendant’s actions in warning prostitutes and pimps of undercover operations and law enforcement sweeps, Trooper Dillard enabled the prostitution ring to avoid arrest and prosecution and to continue to prostitute children as young as 12 years’ old at the Gables Truck Stop.

When confronted with these facts, the defendant made numerous false statements to investigators regarding his relationship with women being prostituted and the information communicated to these women about law enforcement activities.

U.S. Attorney Carlson praised the joint investigation of the State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that discovered the defendant’s corruption and developed the case for prosecution. Carlson noted that the close working relationship between the two law enforcement agencies was instrumental in securing a guilty verdict in a very hard-fought trial.

The Operation Precious Cargo investigation has to date resulted in the conviction of fifteen pimps, two chief prostitutes and two corrupt state troopers.

Chief Judge Kane, who presided over the trial, has set August for the sentencing date.