A Minneapolis man who sold girls as young as 14 for sex will serve a 36-year prison sentence for sex trafficking and child pornography.
Deuvontay S. Charles, 22, was sentenced in federal court in St. Paul last week after jurors heard victim testimony from four girls and convicted him on 20 felony counts.
With one sex crime conviction on his record by age 19, Charles "repeatedly victimized and abused vulnerable young girls with no remorse or acceptance of responsibility for his crimes," Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory G. Brooker said in a statement following sentencing.
Prosecutors in a presentencing court filing argued for Charles to be put in prison for the rest of his life.
Charles' return to sex trafficking came to light in July 2015, when a mother told the Anoka County Sheriff's Office that Charles was recruiting her 17-year-old daughter to be a prostitute.
That tip led authorities to more of his victims. A 14-year-old girl said Charles requested sexually explicit images of her in July 2015.
Charles asked another 14-year-old girl to make a sex video. He also advertised a 17-year-old girl as an escort on Backpage.com. He made her available for sex in a Bloomington hotel and received money from her.
His coercion of these girls began within a couple of months of him being convicted in 2014 in Dakota County for soliciting a 15-year-old to engage in sexual acts. Sentencing in that case put him on probation for three years and required him to register as a sex offender.
