NORFOLK, Va. - A 26-year-old man was sentenced to 18 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to a sex trafficking charge.
Devon Caldwell
According to court documents, Devon Caldwell is accused of forcing a woman to engage in sex acts between May and August 2016.
The documents say Caldwell required the woman, referred to as 'Jane Doe 1', to visit with men five times per night. The appointments would take her to hotels and other locations in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Newport News and other cities in Hampton Roads and wouldn't allow her to have a night off.
He also reportedly had eight-to-ten other women working for him and would encourage them to take hard drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin.
Documents also say the woman escaped from a Newport News hotel where she'd been working for Caldwell on August 19.
Caldwell pleaded guilty earlier this year to a Conspiracy to Engage in Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, and Coercion charge.
Before he was sentenced Caldwell told the judge he was sorry and said his drug problem is why he ran a prostitution ring. His attorney told the judge most of the money he made went to purchase more drugs. She also said most, if not all, of the woman working for Caldwell had been prostitutes in the past.
Neither attorney had any comment following the hearing. Caldwell's family, who was in the audience, also did not have anything to say.
News 3 is told a woman, Jasmine Campbell, has also pleaded guilty in the same case and is scheduled to be sentenced in September.
