Phila. Man Convicted of Sex-Trafficking, Faces Years in Prison
By John Ostapkovich
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Philadelphia man is facing the potential of decades in prison after being convicted of the most serious charges against him in a federal sex-trafficking trial (see related story).
The jury in the case against 34-year-old Rahim McIntyre came back so quickly that some family members present for closing arguments before lunch missed the verdicts not long after.
It took the jury little more than three hours to convict McIntyre of the three charges, including taking part in interstate commercial sex trafficking (see related story). One of his victims was just 17 years old at the time.
Although McIntyre was acquitted of knowingly employing someone under 18 as a prostitute, he was convicted of plenty of other crimes, according to assistant US attorney Michelle Morgan.
"He was convicted of all three counts of sex trafficking by using force, fraud, or coercion, to cause three different women to engage prostitution," she told KYW Newsradio.
The women testified that they witnessed others being beaten with a shoe, a belt, and a wire coat hanger.
Each of the three convictions carries a mandatory minimum 15-year prison term, but a judge will determine later whether the terms are served concurrently or consecutively.