A man convicted of forcing women to engage in prostitution in Tennessee and Texas has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison
The U.S. attorney’s office in Memphis said 41-year-old Antonio Hawkins was sentenced Friday after he was found guilty in July of sex trafficking.
Prosecutors said in a statement that Hawkins took three women from New Orleans to Houston “to put the women out on the prostitution track” in April 2016.
While in Houston, Hawkins picked up a 15-year-old runaway and forced her into prostitution as well.
Hawkins then brought the women to Memphis, where he hit them, pointed a gun at them and fired warning shots to keep them from leaving.
Hawkins was convicted of charges including sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion.