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Va. man convicted of sex trafficking, forcing vulnerable women into ‘modern-day slavery’


(MGN Online)
(MGN Online)
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A Woodbridge man was found guilty by a federal jury of his involvement in a sex-trafficking conspiracy on Thursday.

Cornell Devore Rhymes, 32, faces a minimum of 15 years in prison for conspiring with at least two other men to force vulnerable young women into prostitution during the summer of 2017, according to a statement from G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Prosecutors presented evidence that Rhymes used violence, cocaine, and non-consensual sex to coerce young women into prostituting for his profit.

“Sex traffickers often prey upon the most vulnerable victims in our society,” Terwilliger said. “The victims were targeted specifically because Rhymes knew they were vulnerable and that he could exploit them, and he used fear, coercion, and control to force them into a form of modern-day slavery.”

Justin Robinson and Markus Plummer were previously convicted in the conspiracy, according to court records.

Before the trial, Rhymes pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Rhymes is scheduled to be sentenced by a district court judge on February 15, 2019. He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutes.

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