Colorado man sentenced to historic 448 years in prison for sex trafficking 4 women and 2 minors after refusing 40-year deal

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

3 4 minutes read

A Colorado judge handed down a historic prison sentence Tuesday to a man who was convicted of sex trafficking numerous victims, including two minors, four women and a man.

Robert Hawkins was convicted of 18 counts, including five of human trafficking, in Denver District Court.

KDVR-TV reported that Hawkins was initially offered a plea deal of 40 years in prison which he refused.

“I’m relieved this monster is locked up for good.”

All seven victims testified against Hawkins during a month-long trial that ended with his conviction in March.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Lara Mullin said law enforcement officials realized Hawkins had been involved in a shooting that was later identified as a sex trafficking incident.

“Ultimately what we realized is that it's all kind of connected – in the process of putting this together and starting to really look at what Robert Hawkins has done over the years.” , Mullin said. “We then identified another victim who had been involved in an incident in which Robert Hawkins had actually shot a sex buyer after dropping her off on Colfax Avenue. And at the time this case happened, we didn't realize that human trafficking was happening.

An arrest warrant indicated that his victims were forced, under threat of violence, to cook for him in addition to selling their bodies. A victim was likewas 13 when the abuse began.

“The girls had to earn at least $500 a day,” an excerpt of the affidavit reads. “They also had to set a quota of $5,000 to gain Hawkins’ trust. This quota was intended to help pay for a fake ID and birth certificate so the girls could travel and engage in sex work in California.

“Robert Hawkins… took advantage of six extremely vulnerable victims, and he will now pay a high price for his crimes.”

KMGH-TV obtained one of the statements made by one of the man's adult victims.

I am happy that all victims, including juveniles, are getting justice due to an inhumane act that Mr. Hawkins did to us, and I am happy that he will serve the rest of his life behind bars! He took our freedom, now he has taken away his. I'm relieved this monster is locked away for good. I'm also happy that the man who was shot also got justice!

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann also released a statement after the sentencing.

“I hope that today's sentence sends the message that human trafficking will not be tolerated in this community and will be aggressively prosecuted,” she said. “Robert Hawkins, like most human traffickers, showed no respect for anyone but himself, took advantage of six extremely vulnerable victims, and he will now pay a high price for his crimes. ”

One juror said after the trial that the prosecutor's case made it easier for them to convict.

“The prosecution did a great job of presenting really strong evidence, and there were some questions, and again, we took that very seriously,” said the juror, who declined to be named. publicly identified.

“We looked at a lot of information, a lot of evidence, but it was pretty obvious what was happening,” the juror added.

The previous conviction with the longest sentence for human trafficking was 401 years, also in Colorado.

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collision crime historic Denver pimp sentence historical sex trafficking incident report public safety Robert Hawkins pimp safety sex trafficking in Denver traffic