An alleged sex trafficker who falsely claimed he was incapable of sexual activity when testifying during his criminal federal trial was sentenced Tuesday to 21 months in federal prison for committing perjury.
John Dompierre, of Avondale, Ariz., was indicted by a grand jury with one count of conspiracy and one count of transportation for illegal sexual activity. The 60-year-old was accused of being part of a nationwide sex-trafficking operation based in Albuquerque, N.M.
Dompierre went to trial on those charges in November 2021. A jury could not reach a unanimous verdict and a mistrial was declared — however, his legal problems were far from over.
When Dompierre took the witness stand, he falsely testified he “could not have committed the crimes charged” because he suffered from erectile dysfunction. He also claimed he hadn’t taken his medication for that condition for years prior to the alleged crimes.
Dompierre’s argument was later proven false after the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico obtained his medical records, which refuted his claims of sexual impossibility and confirmed he was sexually active at the time of the alleged crimes.
Earlier this year, Dompierre pleaded guilty to perjuring himself during the November 2021 trial.
“Dompierre admitted that, while he does have a condition, it does not render him incapable of sexual activity and that his condition had not gone unmedicated,” the attorney’s office said in a news release. He also acknowledged that he knew his testimony was false and that “it was material to the criminal trial because it formed the substantial basis for his defense.”
In addition to his 21-month sentence, Dompierre was ordered to pay $2,400, New Mexico U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez announced Tuesday. After his release, Dompierre will be subject to three years of supervised release.
