NORFOLK, Virg. — A Virginia man was sentenced to 25 years in prison Tuesday for sex trafficking two minors, including a missing 14-year-old girl from Colorado, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.
Denzel Akeem Loftin, 32, of Chesapeake, Virginia, began chatting with an undercover law enforcement officer in September 2022. The officer was posing as a 17-year-old girl from Pennsylvania, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Loftin told the undercover officer he was a pimp and "proposed that the girl come to Virginia to work for him," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. He later posted advertisements for her on online trafficking sites.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said in October 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) learned of a 14-year-old missing girl from Colorado who had been found in sex trafficking advertisements in the Hampton Roads area. Authorities set up a "date" for commercial sex with the 14-year-old and another juvenile.
Before the "date," authorities saw Loftin with the teen and two other females. One of the females was identified as a missing 17-year-old from Missouri, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
During their investigation, law enforcement officers seized electronic devices and discovered that Loftin engaged in a sexual act with the 17-year-old and sex-trafficked her. The 14-year-old told authorities she saw Loftin "inflict physical violence" on the 17-year-old, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. At one point, Loftin hit the 17-year-old in the mouth for "talking back," the 14-year-old told authorities.
Loftin was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison.
Emerita Moore, 24, was identified as Loftin's "bottom," or the female who supervises the girls who are being trafficked, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Moore would make children comfortable in working for Loftin and arrange their travel, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Moore was arrested after she arrived to the "date" with the 14-year-old and 17-year-old. She was sentenced to five years in prison on Nov. 7, the sheriff's office said.
