Longest-Ever Sentence Handed Down For Human Trafficker
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - What is believed to be the longest sentence anywhere in the United States for human trafficking was given out on Tuesday in the Arapahoe County courthouse.
Brock Franklin was sentenced to 472 years for operating an organized crime ring that put females into prostitution. He was designated a habitual offender.
Brehannah Leary was one of the victims, she told CBS4 investigator Rick Sallinger force was often used on them.
"Every day the beatings, the name callings, the shavings of one's head," she said were among the tactics to keep the women in line.
She was one of nine female victims.
"400 years, 500 years it's a very long time. He's never getting out of prison. It's closure, but still doesn't give me what I wanted," Leary added.
The others charged in Franklin's ring got much less time. The judge pointed out no one died in this case, but the effects were horrific on the girls.
"Well obviously a 400-year sentence sends a strong message across the country," Colorado Attorney General's office spokesman Janet Drake said. She added that message should include those who pay for sex.
Kelly Dzedzic, the prosecutor on the case for Arapahoe County, said each victim was accounted for in the lengthy sentence.
"No buy one, get one free," Dzedzic said.
Leary said she was between jobs, her husband kicked her out. That's when she met up with Franklin who acted at first like a friend and turned her into a call girl until her rescue.
"I've got something going for me. I'm not just some prostitute," Leary said.
CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.