Hawkeye Reporter

Iowa resident Marlin Santana Thomas, 46, was sentenced to life in prison for the sex trafficking of six adult victims using fraud, force, and coercion, KCRG reported.

"When imposing sentence, Chief Judge Jarvey characterized Thomas's crimes as depraved, stating that Thomas had treated humans like currency. He also found Thomas had engaged in serial rape and was a highly dangerous individual. He further noted that Thomas had not expressed any remorse for his crimes or the victims," according to a Department of Justice press release.

Thomas was also sentenced for the trafficking of a 14-year-old. He confessed to trafficking victims beginning in 2009 and continuing until 2018—when he was arrested in a drug-related federal investigation. Obeying his plea agreement, Thomas confessed to using violence against his six adult victims to force them to engage in commercial sex acts. He punched one victim in the face, physically assaulted another inside their home, and used a final victim's heroin addiction to coerce them into commercial sex.

Iowa resident Marlin Santana Thomas | Polk County Jail

"The National Human Trafficking Hotline received 218 calls from Iowa alone in 2017 and 74 Iowa-based human trafficking cases," according to the trafficking prevention site Chains Interrupted. "Of the cases reported to the Human Trafficking Hotline for Iowa, half are reports from minors." 

One study found that "1,350 unique individuals advertised for sale for sex online every month in Iowa."

Sgt. Brady Carney of the Des Moines Police Department testified in court that he talked to another 11 women that Thomas "raped, physically assaulted, and/or attempted to sex traffic." Carney cross-checked all of these accounts with secondary evidence. He also noted that Thomas "assaulted, raped and stalked victims who did not comply."

According to the Justice Department website, the U.S. federal government awarded $101 million last year to combat human trafficking.

"The scourge of human trafficking is the modern-day equivalent of slavery, brutally depriving victims of basic human rights and essential physical needs as it erodes their sense of dignity and self-worth," then-Attorney General William Barr said in a September 2020 press release. "The Department of Justice is relentless in its fight against the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. Working with state and local law enforcement and community victim service providers, we will continue to bring these criminals to justice and deliver critical aid to survivors."