Army sergeant charged with pimping teen

TACOMA, Wash., June 3 (UPI) -- An Army sergeant facing Washington state charges of promoting prostitution has now been charged by federal prosecutors with sex trafficking of a child.

Sgt. Sterling Terrance Hospedales, 26, who was stationed at Fort Lewis, is now being held in a detention center at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, The (Tacoma) News Tribune reported.

In a news release, federal prosecutors said a task force investigating child sex trafficking discovered that a 17-year-old runaway from Seattle who had been posting ads on Craigslist was working out of an apartment Hospedales provided for her. Investigators also found a 16-year-old recently arrived from Wyoming who said he paid for her plane ticket.

"The second girl stated that she had only been in town a week, and had taken pictures to post on Craigslist for prostitution purposes, but had not started earning money for Hospedales," prosecutors said.

Hospedales faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted.