TOLEDO, Ohio — A Toledo man affiliated with a local ministry is facing federal charges after FBI investigators claim he used money, alcohol and drugs to pay teenage girls -- some of whom he met through the ministry -- for sex.
James Lawson, 54, is charged with coercion and enticement, exploitation of minors and possession of a firearm, based on a criminal complaint filed Nov. 20.
Lawson is accused of paying juveniles for sex and child sexual abuse images. The juveniles would be paid to have sex with each other, with Lawson or with another girl whom Lawson knew. Lawson also is accused of threatening victims not to talk the police.
One of the girls, a 14-year-old, is pregnant with Lawson's child, according to information reported to a member of the Toledo Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
The abuse outlined in an affidavit filed by the task force officer dates back to December, 2021, when one of the juveniles said that she met Lawson at the Toledo Masjid Al-Islam mosque. The juvenile, her brother and other boys and girls worked at the mosque's food pantry. She said she would get paid about $150 and given marijuana for working at the food pantry.
The juvenile said her cousins had been involved with Lawson for a couple of years and when she went to Lawson's house with them, he gave them liquor and marijuana. Her cousins then told her that Lawson would pay underage girls to have sex with them. Payment would be in the form of marijuana, money and sometimes ecstasy pills to sell.
The juvenile told authorities that it escalated from there, with Lawson asking her to introduce him to other girls with whom he could have sex and offering more money.
The first time she had sex with Lawson, she was 15 years old and was paid in marijuana, pills and cash, the teen told authorities. In total, she believed she had sex with Lawson six or seven times and was paid each time, she said..
According to court documents, Lawson recently drove the girl and another 15-year-old juvenile to a Motel 6 in Detroit two separate times, paying them for sex both times.
At one point, Lawson "told her that he had shot a girl in the face and then showed her a picture of a girl with a gun wound to the face and then threatened her to not talk to the police," the affidavit said.
Three juveniles were interviewed by federal investigators.
The second girl stated that in June, she was outside of a south Toledo corner store with her 14-year-old friend and 16-year-old cousin when the group was approached by Lawson. He is accused of offering them a ride or some marijuana, which the girls accepted. Lawson paid the girl to have sex with her cousin and did not ask their ages, the girl told investigators.
Lawson seemed to take an interest in her 14-year-old friend, according to the girl, and she said her friend also liked him.
The girl had sex with Lawson multiple times and said Lawson would pray at a mosque in the 720 block of E. Bancroft Street every time she was with him.
In one instance, Lawson took the girl to "another girl's apartment" and paid the girl to have sex with her at the apartment, according to the affidavit.
Toledo police conducted a sting in August on Lagrange Street, during which Lawson allegedly offered an undercover officer crack cocaine in exchange for sex. Police claim Lawson pulled out a bag of cocaine and showed it to the officer. Lawson was arrested and has been in custody since.
Lawson, who was already under investigation by federal authorities from the first juvenile's interview in March, was booked into the Lucas County Jail on charges of possession of cocaine, trafficking in cocaine and solicitation.
Child sexual abuse images, videos and chat messages were found on Lawson's cellphone at the time of his arrest, including ones with the second juvenile interviewed during the investigation, police claim.
The cousin of the second juvenile interviewed spoke with authorities in September, describing watching her cousin have sex with Lawson. She said she had been at Lawson's residence "about five times" and that Lawson picked her up and dropped her off each time.
The day after she was interviewed, investigators received an email from Lucas County Children Services. The email stated that the agency had received reports that Lawson had "lots" of videos of the girl and her cousin, and that Lawson was still sending the girl money.
Additional evidence collected during a September search of Lawson's home authorities matched the sex videos produced by Lawson of the juveniles, including the appearance of the interior of his home and a cooler full of sex toys similar to the ones described by the juveniles in interviews.
A stripper pole was located in the office, which one of the juveniles said Lawson would watch them use and would throw money at them while they danced.
Lawson has a previous rape conviction from 1994, which means he is not allowed to possess a firearm, authorities said. Multiple guns were also found during the federal search of his residence, authorities claim.
Lawson was due in court on Thursday, however, his appearance was postponed.
WTOL 11 reached out to Toledo Masjid for comment but has not yet received a response.
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