DENVER (KDVR) — A 32-year-old man from Chesapeake, Virginia, was sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia for sex trafficking two minors, one of whom was from Colorado.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Denzel Akeem Loftin was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sex trafficking two minors.
Loftin began chatting with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 17-year-old girl living in Pennsylvania in September 2022. According to court documents, Loftin told the undercover officer he was a pimp and proposed the “girl” come to Virginia and work for him.
In October 2022, he posted advertisements for her on online sex trafficking sites.
In the same month, the FBI learned a 14-year-old missing from Colorado had been located in sex trafficking advertisements in the Hampton Roads area, which consists of nine cities, including Chesapeake.
Officers set up a “date” for commercial sex with the Colorado child and another juvenile, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office release. Loftin was observed with the 14-year-old and two female individuals immediately before the “date.” One of the girls was identified as a missing 17-year-old from Missouri.
Law enforcement seized electronic devices from Loftin that revealed he not only sex-trafficked the minor but also engaged in a sex act with the 17-year-old. The Colorado youth said they witnessed Loftin inflict physical violence on the 17-year-old, including hitting her in the mouth for “talking back,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Additionally, Emerita Moore, 24, of Norfolk, Virginia, was sentenced to five years in prison on Nov. 7 for her assistance to Loftin. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Moore was Loftin’s “bottom,” or the female who supervises sex trafficking victims.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office shared that Moore helped with online recruitment by speaking with the victims in advance to make them feel more comfortable. She also assisted in arranging their travel.
Moore was arrested after arriving for the commercial sex appointment set up by law enforcement with the 14- and 17-year-old minors.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.
