DENVER – A Colorado man was sentenced last week to 448 years in prison for human trafficking-related offenses. If the sentence given by Judge Kandace Gerdes holds up on appeal, it would qualify as the longest such sentence ever, Law&Crime reported.

The defendant, Robert Earl Hawkins, 44, was convicted in March by a Denver jury on 18 charges, including three counts of human trafficking — sexual servitude of an adult, one count of human trafficking — sexual servitude of a minor, four counts of pimping of an adult, one count of pimping of a child, one count of sexually assaulting a child, and two counts of assault in the first degree, as well as various other charges.

Between 2018 and 2021, Hawkins exploited four adult women and two children in Denver, preying on the victims’ vulnerabilities, using physical violence and threats to keep the victims under his control, and profiting from the sale of their bodies. Hawkins also shot a sex buyer after he dropped off one of the victims, according to a news release by the Denver District Attorney’s Office.

One victim described Hawkins as her “master” and said the girls he controlled “had to serve” him by “doing things like making him meals and making money for him through commercial sex acts,” according to a search warrant affidavit filed in the case.

An adult victim came forward in December 2019 — prompting a nearly two-year-long investigation before Hawkins was finally arrested, Law&Crime reported.

“[T]he girls were required to make a minimum of $500 per day,” the affidavit noted. “They were also required to make a $5,000 quota to gain Hawkins’ trust. This quota was intended to help pay for a fake identification and birth certificate in order for the girls to travel to and perform sex work in California.”

https://www.lawofficer.com/human-sex-trafficker-receives-prison-sentence-of-448-years/