EAST ST. LOUIS — A 25-year-old Missouri woman and her 28-year-old husband are facing possible life sentences, after they pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to sex trafficking a female child from Illinois.

Robin Thompson and Marcus Dewayne Thompson of Park Hills, Missouri, pleaded guilty in federal district court, in East St. Louis, to one count each of Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking of Minor by Force, Fraud, or Coercion, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, James L. Porter, announced Friday.

Robin Thompson is scheduled for sentencing on September 15, 2016, before the Honorable Michael J. Reagan, at which time she faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, not more than 5 years of supervised release after her prison term, a mandatory special assessment of $100, and restitution.

Marcus Thompson is scheduled for sentencing on September 29, 2016, before the Honorable Michael J. Reagan, at which time he faces a sentence of fifteen years to life in prison, not more than 5 years of supervised release after his prison term, a mandatory special assessment of $200, and restitution.

Facts presented in court revealed that during a six week period in June and July 2015, Robin Thompson took part in a venture with her husband and co-defendant Marcus Dewayne Thompson, which involved the recruitment, transportation, and advertisement of a minor female from Illinois for commercial sex acts in Florida, Georgia and Louisiana.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak.