Colorado man sentenced to 448 years in prison in human trafficking case

DENVER — One of the longest sentences — if not the longest — for a human trafficking conviction in the United States was handed down Thursday afternoon in Colorado.

Robert Earl Hawkins, 44, of Denver, was sentenced to 448 years in prison for a series of charges against him involving human trafficking, both adults and minors. This 448-year sentence includes the charges he will serve concurrently with other charges, which adds up to approximately 200 additional years.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Lara Mullin said she believes it is the longest sentence for human trafficking not only in Colorado, but in the United States.

A jury found Hawkins guilty in late March of more than a dozen counts, five of which were human trafficking charges. One of these four charges involved a minor. Prosecutors with the Denver District Attorney's Office said the verdict was a long time coming and the incidents spanned from 2018 to 2021.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Lara Mullin, the lead prosecutor on the case, said Hawkins was tried for three different but interrelated cases, which involved seven victims: four adult women, two young girls and a man. All of them testified in court during the trial.

The man was shot after dropping off one of the victims.

In a probable cause statement, one of the victims described Hawkins as “her master” during an interview with investigators. She said “the girls were expected to serve Hawkins by doing things like cooking meals for him and making money for him through commercial sex acts,” the document reads. In at least one recorded case, a victim tried to escape and Hawkins physically assaulted them, it continues.

They also had to establish a $5,000 quota to gain Hawkins' trust. This quota was intended to help pay for a fake ID and birth certificate so the girls could travel and work as prostitutes in California “, indicates the probable cause. bed.

Authorities began investigating Hawkins in December 2019. He was arrested on November 9, 2021 in Colorado.

During Hawkins' 15-day trial, expert witnesses explained the dynamics of human trafficking to educate the jury about power and control, as well as the trauma that can make it difficult for victims to leave .

After the sentencing, Mullin said this case could “result in the longest human trafficking sentence in the history of the country” because Hawkins is a repeat offender.

Hawkins' sentencing began Thursday afternoon and included testimony from the victims and their families, as well as closing arguments from the defense and prosecution.

The defense said it had no witnesses to call and asked the court to impose the statutory minimum sentence in the case and give credit for time served. They argued that the victims were “sanitized and “made to be pure victims.”

“They were educated to use the correct sociological terms to demonize Mr. Hawkins, the individual solely responsible for their plight…” the defense said. “The truth was much more nuanced and grayer.”

The defense said that because Hawkins plans to appeal, he will not make a statement in court Thursday.

The prosecution noted that between 1997 and 2023, Hawkins was arrested, cited or detained for investigation of 57 offenses in 22 cases. But they were all fired because the alleged victims didn't come forward or file complaints. As a result, Hawkins learned he could get away with it, prosecutors said, adding that this cycle was over.

Colorado man sentenced to 448 years in prison in human trafficking case

Judge Kandace Gerdes invited the prosecution to call witnesses who wished to address the court before sentencing. In total, eight of them spoke.

“Being raped daily affects your identity,” one victim said. “It affects your body image. It affects your mental capacity to love, to understand what love is…It affects what you see as marriage – whether or not you think you're worthy of it.”

“The problem with predators is that they see your innocence, your decency, your childhood and they prey on it,” she continued.

The parents of the victims also spoke. One mother said her daughter was a smart, successful and ambitious girl when she met Hawkins, and then he tried to tear their entire family apart. She added that she still doesn't believe he understands the gravity of his actions.

One victim, who was a young girl when she met Hawkins, said in her statement read to the court that he knew what he was doing. She needed advice and he took advantage of it. She is still discovering today the impact it had on her.

“I’m not broken,” she said.

Several witnesses explained why they did not flee Hawkins. They recalled the threats of violence – including unexpected assaults – that kept them close to him and compliant with his demands.

One juvenile victim said she knew it was wrong and didn't like Hawkins, but didn't think she had any other options.

An adult victim said she remembered Hawkins and his associates “indicating” that he was not the type to lash out, so she did not attempt to escape . She was in Denver trying to get back to California to see her sick father and children, but she had no money. Hawkins picked her up and trapped her, she said. She said she once worked 77 days straight, making about $15,000, but only making a few hundred dollars.

She said she hoped he would die in prison.

One of the victims met Hawkins at a party and told her he wouldn't let her and other young women leave. She said she learned that she “was now his property.” Every time she tried to escape, she was beaten.

Another woman, who was 19 when she met Hawkins, said she dated him for barely a month before he began regularly assaulting her. Under the impression that he loved her, she endured him, she said.

She also recalled the abuse she suffered when she tried to escape: in one case, she fled to Houston, but someone Hawkins knew spotted her and alerted him, and he went to town. He managed to track her down, snatched her from the sidewalk, dragged her to a hotel room and beat her for hours, she said.

“Eventually you stop trying (to escape) because the hits weren’t worth it anymore,” she said.

The woman said she didn't feel safe reporting the crimes until he was in jail and she couldn't pick her up.

“He’s barely human,” she said. “Hearing a guilty verdict was like freedom.”

One woman said she didn't come forward because she was vengeful or angry, but because she learned Hawkins had framed minors in the same way he framed her.

“How dare they have to fight so much just to live?” she said. “It's not right. I did this for justice and freedom. No more, no less… My testimony is that I am worthy. And no man can touch me or take from me what I does not give freely.

The mother of one victim, who was just 13 when she went missing, remembers finding her daughter and how they hugged each other and cried for hours.

The mother told the court she and other witnesses could hear Hawkins' gentle remarks he made during the trial when the victims and their family members were on the stand.

One victim said she was forced to work for consecutive days until she could barely stand, then beaten, starved and degraded. It is entirely right that he is serving a long consecutive sentence, she said, but he has nowhere to run and no one to blame but himself.

“This will be his legacy,” she said.

The women also reflected on how far they have come since their release. One graduated from college and hopes to open a nonprofit to help women who are victims of human trafficking. Another is a majoring student with the goal of earning her master’s degree in social work and becoming a lawyer.

After a brief recess, Judge Gerdes handed down the sentence, which she grouped by victim while reading it aloud. All charges combined, the total amounts to 448 years in prison. Restitution was not ordered in any of the three cases.

Shortly after the sentencing, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann and others discussed the historic conviction and answered questions.

Watch this press conference below.

Press conference: Colorado man sentenced to 448 years in prison in human trafficking case

Between fiscal years 2020-2021 and 2022-2023, four people were convicted and sentenced for human trafficking – involuntary servitude in Colorado. During the same period, 17 people were convicted and sentenced for human trafficking – sexual servitude.

At the time of Hawkins' sentencing in March, Senate Bill 24-035 had been approved by both the Senate and House of Representatives and was in the Senate awaiting consideration of amendments made in the House. This bill was signed into law by Colorado Governor Jared Polis on April 11.

The law adds human trafficking for the purpose of involuntary servitude and human trafficking for the purpose of sexual servitude to the list of crimes of violence, and increases the statute of limitations for prosecuting these types of offenses to 20 years . Additionally, it extends the statute of limitations for adult survivors of human trafficking.

If you or someone you know needs help, you are not alone. You can call the Colorado Human Trafficking Hotline at 866-455-5075 or a text 720-999-9724.