GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Florida man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for sex trafficking a 14-year-old child with two other women.
According to Christopher Canova, a U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Florida, 24-year-old Rajheem Kwamaine Roddey of Starke was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison.
In June, Roddey plead guilty to benefiting financially from child sex trafficking. He and two other co-defendants, 21-year-old Bailegh Noelle Coleman and 21-year-old Laney Ellis, also plead guilty to child sex trafficking.
Between April and June 2017, officials say Roddey, Coleman, and Ellis were involved in a scheme to make money using a 14-year-old female to perform sex acts.
Court documents say the trio took pictures of the child and created advertisements on the now shut down online advertising website Backpage.com. Under the false name “Emily," the advertisements were posted in a section for “escort services,” when the advertisements were actually offering up the victim for commercial sexual activity.
According to court documents, Ellis and Coleman handled texts and calls received by "johns" and coordinated the details such as the price and location, sometimes even sending pictures of the victim.
Documents say Roddey, Coleman, and Ellis profited from the sex trafficking scheme and purchased drugs with the proceeds.
