Teen freed from accused trafficker, then he puts a hit on her, feds say. He’s sentenced
A 16-year-old girl was rescued from sex trafficking in Virginia, then her accused trafficker tried to have her killed, federal officials said.
Pierre De Romeo Smith, 40, has now been sentenced to 32 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said June 13.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorney June 14 and did not immediately receive a response.
In April, Smith was convicted on seven charges of sex trafficking, production of child pornography, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and unlawful possession of a firearm, federal officials said.
Beginning around May 1, 2022, Smith first met the teen and took sexually explicit photos of her for commercial sex websites, investigators said in an affidavit.
He’s accused of giving her ecstasy to help her stay awake while he arranged for her to have “dates” over the following weeks in the Hampton Roads area and pocketed the money.
The Virginia Beach Police Department said it received a tip about sex trafficking at a hotel on the beach. Law enforcement found the matching listing on a sex website, and an undercover detective arranged to meet up with her on May 19, officials said.
Before their meeting, another man was seen leaving the hotel room and was arrested by Virginia Beach police, prosecutors said. When questioned, he told police he paid $200 for sex acts with the teen, officials said.
The undercover officer proceeded up to the 11th floor of the hotel and met the teen there. Once they agreed to a price of $350, an arrest team entered the room and detained the teen for questioning, according to prosecutors.
As they were all in the hotel room, Smith texted the teen he was there. Detectives found him on the hotel property with keys to that room, and they arrested him, police said.
About a month later, the teen reached out to law enforcement to say that Smith, an accused gang leader, had “green lit” her to be killed because she was cooperating with the investigation.
Virginia Beach is in the southeast part of the state, near the border of North Carolina.
This story was originally published June 14, 2024 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Teen freed from accused trafficker, then he puts a hit on her, feds say. He’s sentenced."