An Illinois man with a history of meeting women on Facebook and forcing them into prostitution has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on a charge of trafficking sex workers out of a Bloomington hotel.
Darnell D. Stennis, 30, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis after jurors convicted him in October of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; transporting an individual to engage in prostitution; and obstruction.
Stennis coerced two women, ages 23 and 26, into having sex with men for money in several states, according to the federal charges. When one of them refused to work for him, Stennis choked her, smashed her head into a bathroom towel rack and then threw her against the toilet, the charges said.
At the time of his arrest at the La Quinta Inn & Suites on March 25, 2019, Stennis was wanted by police in California and Indiana, and he has been accused of similar crimes in Ohio.
"While [this] sentencing cannot undo the pain Stennis inflicted upon those who survived his abuse, it is my hope that by seeing him held accountable for his heinous crimes they will be given some form of solace knowing he is no longer in the communities in which they live," Jamie Holt, Homeland Security Investigations acting special agent in charge, said in a statement after sentencing.
After his 20 years in prison, Stennis will be under court supervision for five years.
Before sentencing by Judge Patrick Schiltz, prosecutors argued in a court filing for Stennis to receive a 30-year prison term to be followed by 15 years of supervised release.
"Stennis has lived all his life in a revolving door of the criminal justice system, and he has shown no remorse throughout," the filing read, noting his past acts of robbery, weapons possession and domestic assault. "His trial testimony reveals his nature. When asked, 'You're a pimp, right?' Stennis offered no apologies and answered, 'Yes.' "
