Man from Pennsylvania pleaded guilty on January 7 this year for sex trafficking. Robert Middlebrook, 41, of Clairton was seen with four teenagers in his cars during a traffic stop.
According to AP, three of the teenagers were only 17 and the other one was 16. They were all runaways and are friends with each other. Middlebrook got the girls in Canton-Akron area, about two hours west of Pittsburgh. He met one of the girls and convinced her to come with him. The girls were told that they will be prostituting them. They were being asked to do service for "johns" or male ex costumers.
Fox News reported that the man was first arrested for possession of heroin and trafficking minors. He was on probation for possession of heroin before being charge by troopers on the traffic stop. The federal investigators took over the case and dropped the charge as Attorney David Hickton made an emphasis on human trafficking rather than the heroin possession on his case. Four teenagers and 8,000 dose of heroin were found inside his car last year. The incident happened in Lower Paxton Township in Harrisburg last year February 17.
WDTN stated that Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar told U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab that Middlebrook brought the girls to Pennsylvania. Kiari Day, 26, of Rankin is the accomplice of Middlebrook. She pleaded guilty for helping Middlebrook and for teaching the girls how to interact with costumers. She is also the one dressing the girls when they are about to pose for an online ads posted on Backpage.com.
In February, hotel rooms were rented for the girls to do sex activities with costumers. It was also said that Middlebrook threatened the girls to have sex with his friends for money. Smolar said that the girls were also given marijuana, ecstasy and condoms before doing some of the activities.
Middlebrook can be given any sentence between 10 years and life in prison. The decision will be made on May 9.
