Hawaii Man Indicted on Multiple Civil Rights Charges Including Sex Trafficking

A federal judge in the District of Hawaii unsealed a 20-count indictment charging a Hawaii man with five counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; one count of sex trafficking of a minor; three counts of obstructing and interfering with a sex trafficking investigation; 11 counts of interstate travel and transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises and one count of interstate transportation of the purposes of prostitution. The indictment also charges a co-defendant with three counts of interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.

According to the indictment, Isaiah McCoy, 37, used force, fraud and coercion to cause four adult women and one minor to engage in commercial sex acts in Hawaii between May 2019 and May 2023. The indictment also alleges that co-defendant Anwar Al-Rasul, 60, used cell phones and the internet to discuss booking commercial sex acts and collected payments from commercial sex acts between October 2019 and November 2019.

The charge of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years, a maximum penalty of life in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Restitution is also mandatory upon any conviction for sex trafficking. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence upon any conviction after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Special Agent in Charge John F. Tobon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Honolulu Field Office made the announcement.

HSI investigated the case with the assistance of the Honolulu Police Department.

Trial Attorneys Maryam Zhuravitsky and Meghan Tokash of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.

HSI is asking anyone with information about McCoy and Al Rasul to contact the HSI Honolulu Field Office at 808-529-1900 and Press “2” for the duty agent. Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.