HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — A Norfolk man pleaded guilty to flying homeless, runaway teens to Hampton Roads to work as prostitutes, according to the court documents.
Court records state that one girl was a 14-year-old and the other was a 17-year-old girl.
The man, 33-year-old Denzel Loftin, will be sentenced in November after pleading guilty to one count of sex trafficking a minor.
A woman who was working with Loftin, 23-year-old Emerita Moore, also pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting transporting an individual to engage in prostitution.
Court records outline the accounts of what federal prosecutors say happened. They state that Moore met Loftin online and he bought her a bus ticket to come to Virginia. The records further state that she arrived and was on popular escort websites to engage in commercial sex, and Loftin had her recruit other females online.
According to court records, Moore identified herself as Loftin’s “bottom," a term used to describe a female appointed by a sex trafficker to supervise the other females working for the trafficker.
On October 5, 2022, the FBI in Phoenix was pretending to be a 17-year-old girl and communicating online with Loftin, who called himself a pimp.
Court records outline the following communication between the two while he was trying to lure her to Virginia:
"Confidential Informant: Thinking bout getting out of here soon… you never said where I was going in Virginia anyways ? Like Richmond I don’t know much about VA
Loftin: Naw the 7 citys, when u ready daddy going to book your ticket baby.”
On October 31, 2022, the FBI in Norfolk got information from the Denver Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force about a missing 14-year-old girl who may have been trafficked to Virginia. According to records, the child was seen on online commercial sex websites advertising as a sex worker.
Records indicate that Moore sent the teen flight information to travel from Denver to Norfolk in October.
The FBI and Chesapeake Police worked together to set up an undercover sting operation at a hotel in Chesapeake on October 31, 2022. Records state that Loftin and Moore were also using a hotel in Virginia Beach.
Records outline how all the females got into a rideshare service in Virginia Beach and traveled to the Chesapeake hotel at around 11 p.m.
Moore arrived at the hotel with the 14-year-old girl along with a 17-year-old girl who had arrived in Norfolk on October 6, 2022. Records state that she was a homeless runaway who met Loftin online, who then bought her a plane ticket to come to Virginia.
In early November, Loftin was arrested in the Young Terrace Housing Projects in Norfolk and smashed his phone as authorities approached him.
During the police interview, the 14-year-old said that before leaving Denver, she asked Moore and the other minor how Loftin treated his girls. Records state that Moore told the 14-year-old that he treated the girls well, which she knew to be untrue.
The 14-year-old witnessed Loftin smacking the 17-year-old in the mouth for talking back the first night she arrived in town, according to the documents.
Records also state that all the proceeds from the 14-year-old’s commercial sex dates went back to Loftin. They state that at first, she told him she was 19 years old, but when he questioned her age, she said she was 17 years old.
A confidential informant told authorities that Loftin taught Moore how to “run girls” and how to manage the money they received, according to records.
Back in February, authorities told News 3 they were concerned there were other victims and that he fished for women on a social media website called Tagged.
Tanya Gould is a trafficking survivor and currently the Director of the Anti-Human Trafficking Office of the Attorney General in Virginia. She said traffickers are great at luring people in and figuring out what they desire and need. She also said there are too many people there looking to buy sex workers.
“There is a demand for sex and cheap labor,” said Gould.
Attorney General Jason Miyares says he created the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force to combat the issue and make sure federal, state and local agencies are working together.
“This is a huge issue in Hampton Roads because this is a largely both transient population and a large amount of tourists come here," he said.
In July, the FBI identified 200 child victims through Operation Cross Country — a nationwide initiative in which 126 suspects were arrested, including five people from Virginia Beach.
“We have to think of this as the buying and selling of humans. That's what this is,” said Gould.
Miyares said sex exploitation makes up about 60 percent of the cases, while labor trafficking makes up about 40 percent of the cases.
“Human trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. It is the second largest organized criminal activity after narcotics. Globally, it's about 150 billion dollars a year estimated revenue and a lot of the same bad actors that are in the illegal narcotics trade are also in the human trafficking trade,” said Miyares.
He and others say tips from the public generate investigations and arrests.
“This issue of human trafficking is not going to get better unless the community makes it a priority,” said Gould.
Loftin's attorney, Mary Morgan said she had no comment about the case. Moore's lawyer also did not provide a comment.
Moore and Loftin are being held in the Western Tidewater Regional Jail. Moore is scheduled to be sentenced on September 6 at 10 a.m. in the Norfolk Federal Courthouse. Loftin is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2 at 10 a.m., also in the Norfolk Federal Courthouse.
