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Chicago truck driver faces prison sentence for sex trafficking Butler County minor

A Chicago truck driver is facing a sentence of 15 years to life in prison after a federal jury convicted him of sex trafficking a juvenile girl from Butler County.

Roderick King, 32, was convicted in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh of sex trafficking a minor and two counts of production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, all felonies, at the conclusion of a three-day trial that ended Friday when the jury, after deliberating for about an hour, rendered its decision.

Sentencing has been scheduled for Nov. 3 before Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand, who presided over the trial.

She ordered King to remain in custody until his sentencing. The charges carry a sentence of 15 years to life in prison, a fine up to $250,000 or both, according to U.S. Attorney Cindy K. Chung.

King was indicted in April 2021. He represented himself in the trial.

Prosecutors presented evidence that showed King paid the victim, who was 14 years old when he met her, hundreds of dollars in cash for sex on approximately 10 occasions, and produced two videos of his sexual exploitation of the victim over a three-year period beginning in 2017, according to Chung.

King used social media accounts — a Snapchat account and multiple Facebook accounts — to communicate with the victim. Chung said King used those accounts to maintain control over, manipulate and exploit the victim.

In the fall of 2020, the victim walked into the Butler Township Police station and reported the incidents to officers, Chung said.

The victim testified and was cross-examined by King during the trial. Chung said the victim testified that she reported the crimes to police because “30-year-old men shouldn’t be having sex with little kids.”

The Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Group, the Pennsylvania Attorney General office’s child predator section, Butler Township Police and Butler County Children and Youth Services conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of King.

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