Pimp gets 30 years for trafficking teens

• Tweet

TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 18 (UPI) -- A Florida man who admitted turning teenage runaways into prostitutes was sentenced to 30 years in prison after a victim said he stole her childhood.

A federal judge imposed 15 years of supervised release Monday after Eric Antwan Bell, 38, completes his prison term, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Neang "Pocahontas" Prom, 30, described as both Bell's girlfriend and one of his top prostitutes, received a sentence of just over three years for helping him traffic teenagers.

One victim said she met Bell in a store when she was 14. She said he befriended her, told her she was pretty and then raped her and forced her into prostitution.

"My childhood was taken away from me when I was young and I was forced to be an adult before my time," the woman, now 18, told U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. "They should know that they hurt me and ruined my life so they could help themselves and have money. I want their lives to be ruined so they can't ruin any other lives."

Investigators say Bell lived in Bradenton but ran his business from an apartment in Tampa. The investigation began when a teenager told sheriff's deputies that Bell had put her on the streets, where she made thousands of dollars a year for him.

Bell pleaded guilty in February.