Bronx man, Virgil Wardlow, has pled guilty in federal court to one count of distributing fentanyl, and in connection with his guilty plea, he also stipulated that he paid for commercial sex with a minor using fentanyl-laced pills that caused the death of a 19-year-old victim.

Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced details of the guilty plea on Friday, Oct. 20 when Wardlow appeared before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 13, 2024. 

In the context of the case, Williams said, “The consequences of the defendant’s conduct are heart-wrenching. The defendant paid for sex with a 16-year-old victim using fentanyl-laced pills, which the victim’s 19-year-old friend then ingested, poisoning her and causing her death. Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that this Office will seek justice for families facing the horrific tragedy of losing a loved one to fentanyl poisoning and for victims of child sexual exploitation.”

According to court filings and statements made in court proceedings, Wardlow engaged in a pattern of paying for commercial sex with black market pills that contained fentanyl. On or about March 25, at a hotel room in The Bronx, according to federal prosecutors, Wardlow provided two of those pills to a 16-year-old female (“Victim-1”) in exchange for sex with Victim 1. After Victim 1 had sex with Wardlow and he left the hotel room, Victim 1 and her 19-year-old female friend (“Victim 2”) ingested the pills provided by Wardlow. Thereafter, they said Victim 1 became ill, and Victim 2 became unconscious and died of drug poisoning.

Between at least on or about Feb. 8, 2023, and on or about April 7, 2023, according to federal prosecutors, Wardlow exchanged several messages with other individuals in which he offered to provide pills in exchange for sex or money. They said Wardlow sent these messages using an anonymized cellphone number that masked his identity from his intended victims.

The court heard that Wardlow, 31, of The Bronx pled guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute mixtures and substances containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and oxycodone, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided for informational purposes only. Any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

In the context of the announcement, Williams praised what he described as the outstanding investigative work of the New York State Police, the NYPD, and special agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The case is being handled by the office’s general crimes unit and narcotics unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey W. Coyle is in charge of the prosecution.