Colorado judge
Historic prison sentence A trial was held Tuesday for a man convicted of sex trafficking multiple victims, including two minors, four women and one man.
Robert Hawkins was convicted in Denver District Court on 18 charges, including five counts of human trafficking.
KDVR-TV report Hawkins was originally offered a plea deal of 40 years in prison but rejected it.
“I’m relieved that this monster is locked away for good.”
All seven victims testified against Hawkins during a trial that lasted a month and culminated in a guilty verdict in March.
Assistant District Attorney Lara Marin said law enforcement officials knew Hawkins was involved in a shooting that was later found to be a sex trafficking case.
“Eventually, as we built this case and began to really investigate what Robert Hawkins had been up to over the years, we realized that this was all interconnected,” Mullin said. “We then identified additional victims who were involved in a shooting that Robert Hawkins had shot after dropping off a prostitute on Colfax Avenue. At the time this case was brought to us, we were not aware that human trafficking was occurring.”
Arrest warrant Said The victims were threatened with violence and forced to cook as well as sell their bodies.She was just 13 when the abuse began.
“The girls were required to earn a minimum of $500 a day,” excerpts from the affidavit read, “and to meet a quota of $5,000 to earn Mr. Hawkins’ trust. The quota was intended to cover the cost of obtaining false identification and birth certificates for the girls to travel to California to perform sex work.”
“Robert Hawkins took advantage of six extremely vulnerable victims and will now pay a heavy price for his crimes.”
KMGH-TV is statement It was created by one of the man’s adult victims.
“I am happy that all of Mr. Hawkins’ victims, including minors, have received justice for the inhumane acts he committed against us. I am also happy that he will spend the rest of his life in prison. He took our freedom away from us and now he has taken his own freedom away from us. I am relieved that this monster is locked up for good. I am also happy that the man who was shot has received justice.”
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann release Post-verdict statement.
“We hope today’s sentence sends a message that human trafficking will not be tolerated in our region and will be prosecuted harshly,” she said. “Robert Hawkins, like most human traffickers, took advantage of six extremely vulnerable victims with no consideration for anyone but himself, and now he will pay a heavy price for his crimes.”
One juror said after the trial that the prosecution’s arguments made it easier to get a guilty verdict.
“The prosecution did a great job presenting really solid evidence. We had some doubts, but we took it very seriously,” said the juror, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“We looked at a lot of information, a lot of evidence, and it was pretty clear what was going on,” the juror added.
The longest previous conviction for human trafficking was 401 years, also served by a defendant in Colorado.
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