108 Years in Prison for Arizona Man who Forced Girl,16, into Prostitution
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – A man from Arizona who forced a 16 year old girl into being a prostitute for months was handed down a 108 year prison sentence, according to authorities.
30 year old Robert Hood had recruited the teenage girl victim in late 2017 from the streets of Phoenix and persuaded her to become a prostitute for six months so he could benefit from the money gained by it, according to a news release on Thursday by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Robert Hood recorded the girl on his smartphone “in a sexually exploitative manner” as a way for him to keep control over her, the AG’s Office said.
The 16 year old girl victim was rescued by detectives at a hotel who are with the Phoenix Police Department’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit (HEAT). Mr Hood had trafficked her for months, the victim said to authorities.
Robert Hood was convicted on 11 felony counts on September 23. The charged included the sexual exploitation of a minor and money laundering. Mr Hood was sentenced to 108 years in prison on December 7.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office stated it’s prosecuted 251 cases related to sex trafficking since 2015. Those cases include all forms of child sex trafficking and sex trafficking in general, also other activities that are illegal which exploit victims sexually for money.
The Arizona AG’s Offices asks that anyone who is a human trafficking victim or who believes someone is being held by a human trafficker to contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline phone number at 1-888-373-7888. People can also text HELP to BeFree at 233733.
