California movie producer gets 5 years in prostitution case

NEW YORK - A California movie producer was sentenced in New York City to the maximum five years in prison Thursday after he admitted operating a high-end prostitution service for seven years, providing women to wealthy clients for up to $15,000 and organizing sex parties in the U.S. and abroad.

Dillon Jordan, of Lake Arrowhead, California, was sentenced in Manhattan. U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan said he would have imposed a longer prison sentence if he had the authority to do so, citing the permanent physical and emotional scars the women sustained.

Jordan pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count and five years was the maximum sentence available.

Prosecutors said Jordan operated the business from 2010 to 2017 through a purported party and event planning company and his actual movie production company.

They said in a presentence submission that Jordan tried to parlay his prostitution business to produce legitimate movies, since several investors and well-known producers were also clients of his prostitution ring. At least one client invested $250,000 in Jordan’s movie projects, they said.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JULY 11: (L-R) Rae Jordan and Producer Dillon D. Jordan attend LA special screening of A24's "Skin" at ArcLight Hollywood on July 11, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage)

Jordan is listed among dozens of producers on films including the 2018 film "The Kindergarten Teacher," which featured Maggie Gyllenhaal, and the 2019 movie "The Kid," which starred Ethan Hawke.

At sentencing, Jordan apologized to the victims.

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One victim who spoke during the two-hour hearing said she nearly died a decade ago when Jordan invited her to a party and then fed her a mix of drugs that left her permanently brain-damaged.

"I never wanted to prostitute my body," she said, pausing to collect herself before urging the maximum sentence.

The judge said prison was appropriate for a man who operated a prostitution ring that earned him at least $1.4 million.

"To be sure, this was an illegal operation that Dillon Jordan ran and one that caused real harm to real women. And, as we saw today, permanent harm," Cronan said.

Prosecutors said Jordan was released from a prison in Cuba in 2010 after serving eight years for sex crimes there, and he immediately began linking wealthy individuals he knew with high-end prostitutes, charging between $3,000 and $15,000 per encounter. The government said he pocketed about 40% of the fee.

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They said he once boasted that 75 women worked for him, including some he sent abroad to a madam in the United Kingdom.

In a presentence submission, defense lawyers wrote that Jordan entered the sex industry after a "horrific childhood that was replete with physical, sexual, and psychological abuse" but left the prostitution business in 2017 and established himself in the film business before becoming a home design consultant.

They said he was not a traditional pimp, but rather was paid fees to organize parties with adult sex workers, arrange large events, or book women to attend bachelor parties and adult-themed shows.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a release that Jordan had "operated and profited from an extensive prostitution business that catered to wealthy men and was predicated on the exploitation of young women."