Child sex trafficker sentenced to 472 years in prison
A convicted child sex trafficker in Colorado will spend the rest of his life in prison, and then some, after receiving the longest sentence for a human trafficking case in U.S. history on Tuesday.
(FOX NEWS) - A convicted child sex trafficker in Colorado will spend the rest of his life in prison, and then some, after receiving the longest sentence for a human trafficking case in U.S. history on Tuesday.
Brock Franklin, 31, was sentenced to 472 years in prison for operating a prostitution ring that preyed on young girls and women.
Franklin was found guilty on 30 counts including human trafficking, sexual exploitation of a child, child prostitution, and kidnapping by an Arapahoe County jury in March, FOX 31 Denver reported.
He was originally indicted by a grand jury in 2015. Prosecutors said he used drugs and violence to control young girls and routinely forced them to have sex with him, and sold their services online.
"A 400-year sentence sends a strong message across the country that we're not going to tolerate this kind of violence to women and vulnerable populations," Janet Drake with the Colorado Attorney General's office told FOX 31.
Brehannah Leary, one of Franklin's alleged victims, said he "deserves every single minute in those walls."
Police say the crimes took place at various hotels across the greater Denver region.
“I can’t begin to even explain what he did to my life,” Brehannah Leary, one of Franklin's alleged victims, told the court
“Reading it today, and speaking and actually saying how I felt, and him having hearing and have to sit there and listen and listen to me, that brought me so much joy and that’s why I came today,” she said.
The defense team behind Franklin originally asked for the minimum sentence, 96 years behind bars, but prosecutors pushed for more.
“He deserves every single minute in those walls,” Leary told FOX 31.