Rai Thomas, also known as “Bandz,” was sentenced to 160 months in prison for sex trafficking a minor and using interstate facilities to promote sex trafficking and prostitution. The sentencing took place after Thomas was convicted at trial in October 2025 before U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román.
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, stated, “Rai Thomas preyed on a child for profit, advertising her to strangers on the internet and selling her for sex again and again so he could enrich himself. New Yorkers want child sex traffickers off our streets, never to return. Today’s lengthy prison sentence is indicative of this Office’s commitment to continuing to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to remove sex traffickers like Thomas from our streets and communities.”
Court documents and trial evidence showed that between January and February 2022, Thomas trafficked a minor referred to as Minor Victim-1 for commercial sexual activity at several hotels in the Bronx and Brooklyn. At the time, Minor Victim-1 was living in a children’s group home. Thomas enticed her into commercial sex acts, coordinated her transportation to various hotels, reserved rooms where she engaged in these acts, advertised her online for customers seeking commercial sex, and profited from the operation.
In addition to his prison term, Thomas, who is 31 years old and from Mount Vernon, New York, received five years of supervised release.
Jay Clayton acknowledged the investigative efforts of multiple agencies: the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force; Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department; Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office; City of Poughkeepsie Police Department; and New York City Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Qais Ghafary, Kaiya Arroyo, and Jorja Knauer from the White Plains Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office with support from Paralegal Specialists Gabriela Salerno, Samantha Olsen, and Shannon Becker.
