Youngstown woman jailed after trafficking indictment

YOUNGSTOWN — A woman indicted for selling a young girl for sex is now in the Mahoning County jail.

The Mahoning County Grand Jury on Thursday indicted Victoria Gregory, 36, of Willis Avenue, on a felony count of trafficking in persons [for] commercial sex acts and three felony counts of rape that carry a life sentence.

Gregory was taken into custody this morning.

Mark Burney, 53, of Braden Street, who was also indicted on three felony-life rape counts and a felony count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, has not yet been arrested, he said.

“Through interviews and the investigation from our detective, we were able to identify [Burney, who] was able to take advantage of the child through Gregory,” Allen said.

Allen said the child, who was one of Gregory’s family members and between 8 and 9 years old during the alleged abuse, is now safe through the efforts of Mahoning County Children Services.

County court records show Gregory pleaded guilty to cocaine possession charges in 2017 and was sentenced to three years probation. She had been “negatively terminated” from the court’s mental health intervention program, according to the sentencing entry, after being denied entry to the county’s drug court program.