Stepdad waterboarded children he forced to bake and sell brownies in Louisiana, feds say

Three children were forced to bake and sell brownies by their stepfather who is accused of sexually abusing them and usingviolence, including waterboarding, to keep them working seven days a week in Louisiana, federal prosecutors say.

Instead of going to school, the stepfather made the children “sustain the family” by selling the brownies at 20 to 30 different locations daily for three years, according to the Justice Department. The locations included parking lots, plazas, car dealerships and law firms.

Darnell Fulton, 38, of Pineville, often assaulted the children, “especially” if they did not sell enough, prosecutors say.

Now, he has pleaded guilty to conspiring to compel labor by three minors, and to transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, on Nov. 4, the Justice Department announced in a news release. Fulton is also accused of sexually abusing the children and bringing them to other states for criminal sexual activity.

“This case is proof that human trafficking doesn’t just happen in other countries…human trafficking can be happening right in our own neighborhoods and communities without us even realizing it,” U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown of the Western District of Louisiana said in a statement.

McClatchy News contacted Fulton’s attorney for comment on Nov. 7 and was awaiting a response.

Fulton is facing at least 10 years in federal prison, the mandatory minimum sentence, and potentially up to life in prison, the maximum sentence, the release says.

He agreed to a 35-year prison term and to pay more than $700,000 to his victims, according to prosecutors.

The case

From June 2016 to May 2019, Fulton forced his three stepchildren into his brownie-making business, prosecutors say. At the time, two children were younger than 16, while one was younger than 12, court documents state. Their biological father had been deceased.

Fulton was married to the childrens’ mother and had two children of his own with her, according to an indictment. However, his biological children were not forced to bake and sell brownies.

Fulton pulled his stepchildren out of school and had them working late into the night to make and sell the brownies in public, prosecutors say. When the next day came, the children would have to sell more brownies and were hardly allowed breaks.

This occurred in “the Western District of Louisiana,” which includes the city of Alexandria, “and elsewhere,” the indictment says.

He is accused of using “violence, sexual abuse, withholding of food, degradation and intimidation” to have the children perform labor for him and keep up with his daily sales quotas, prosecutors say.

Some of the violent methods Fulton subjected the children to included waterboarding, as well as having them “get on their hands and knees on rice and stay in a push up or plank position for hours,” according to prosecutors and the indictment.

If the children could not maintain the push up or plank position, Fulton whipped them with a belt, the release says.

He caused the children to believe that if they refused to work for him, “serious harm” would follow, the indictment states.

The children were also forced to “perform sexual acts with him and others,” and were trafficked to other states, according to the release.

“Each of us must be vigilant and aware of our surroundings and if we see a situation that seems suspicious, take the time to report it to the police,” Brown said. “Unfortunately, the victims in this case are the ones who have suffered life-long trauma because of this defendant’s horrendous acts.”

While court records show Fulton was arrested in July 2020, prosecutors did not detail what specifically led to his arrest in the release.

His sentencing is scheduled for April 11, prosecutors say. He also faces two separate $250,000 fines in connection with the charges to which he pleaded guilty.

Fulton’s criminal history goes back to at least 2004, according to The Town Talk newspaper. He has been convicted in Nevada, Texas and Florida in unrelated cases, the outlet reported.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement that Fulton’s most recent conviction “makes clear that the Department of Justice will prosecute those who use violence, psychological abuse, and emotional manipulation to compel the labor and services of their victims.”

“We encourage survivors of forced labor, including children, to report forced labor complaints to authorities,” Clarke added.

In 2020, there were 10,583 human trafficking cases reported to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline. Of these reported cases, 7,648 were about sex trafficking and 1,052 were about labor trafficking.

“It is estimated that between 15,000 to 50,000 women and children are forced into sexual slavery in the United States every year, and the total number varies wildly as it is very difficult to research,” the nonprofit DeliverFund reports.

Pineville, where Fulton is from, is about 190 miles northwest of New Orleans.

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 911.

To report potential trafficking situations, you can contact the national hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or chat with the online hotline.

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