Cape Region man convicted in prostitution, boosting ring

A Cape Region man who made hundreds of thousands of dollars running a prostitution ring in the Lewes and Rehoboth Beach area was convicted May 13 in federal court of sex trafficking, forced labor and interstate prostitution.

Clifton H. Gibbs, 68, was originally indicted in 2023 on 17 counts of those charges involving 13 victims, but his conviction resulted in seven counts of sex trafficking of seven adults, five counts of forced labor and one count of interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution. Records state he ran the operation for more than nine years.

During the seven-day trial, jurors heard how Gibbs prayed upon young women addicted to heroin to lure them into prostitution. He sought them out, offering them a stable place to live and promising to take care of them by giving them housing, food, clothing and easy access to heroin and other drugs, officials said.

According to court records, Gibbs had five properties connected to his prostitution ring. They were located on Jimtown Road and Stingey Lane near Lewes, Dusty Road in Harbeson and Burton Avenue in Rehoboth Beach. Officials said he allowed women to live in trailers or campers on his two rural properties. 

He then instructed the women to engage in commercial sex, instructing his co-defendant, Brooke Waters, 46, to take photos of the women and post them on the internet and advertise the women as “dates,” officials said. Waters earlier pleaded guilty to sex trafficking, forced labor and interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution charges.

“Today’s conviction vindicates the rights of multiple victims who the defendant trafficked over several years within the District of Delaware,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a press release. “This defendant preyed on individuals suffering from opiate addiction and cruelly exploited them for his own profit.”

According to officials, Gibbs kept all the proceeds from the commercial sex acts and provided the women with small amounts of heroin and cocaine to avoid withdrawal sickness. He then controlled the women's access to heroin, causing them to go into withdrawal or exploiting their fear of getting withdrawal sickness.

Whether prostitution, boosting goods to resell or doing manual labor on his properties, officials said Gibbs used physical force against some women by hitting, kicking or threatening to shoot those who disobeyed his orders or talked back.

“I hope that today’s verdict brings some measure of closure for the victims in this case,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Shannon T. Hanson for the District of Delaware in a press release. “I commend the victims’ bravery and willingness to testify to bring this defendant to justice. Our communities are much safer, and this verdict should serve as a warning to other individuals who exploit victims for personal gain.”  

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. Gibbs faces a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison as well as mandatory restitution. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Anyone with information on human trafficking is asked to contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours per day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, go to www.humantraffickinghotline.org.