FAYETTEVILLE -- A Fort Smith man was sentenced to federal prison for prostituting a 16-year-old girl.
Kenyan Roane, 31, was sentenced Monday to 12 years and seven months followed by 10 years of supervised release on one count of sex trafficking of children.
About Nov. 13, 2017, a parent reported her 16-year-old daughter was a victim of sex trafficking. The girl said in an interview at the Benton County Child Advocacy Center she performed sex acts for money and her pimp was Roane. She knew him by his Facebook name Kordai Youngpayme Arnold.
She told investigators she met Roane in 2016 and began prostituting for him at a Motel 6 in Fayetteville. She said Roane also took her to motels in Fort Smith and Jonesboro to perform sex acts with clients.
Roane controlled all her finances and advertised for her clients through backpage.com and other Internet websites.
Roane put her up in a motel room, where a customer would contact her about which sex act and the cost. The customer then met the girl in the room.
Police recorded conversations between Roane and a client in which he admitted being a pimp.
During the investigation, a law enforcement officer, posing as a 16-year-old female, made online contact with Roane via his Facebook account at "kordai_youngpayme.roane."
Roane told the undercover officer he "promotes females" and subsequently said he was "a pimp." Contact between the 16 year-old undercover persona and Roane continued into January, at which time Roane was taken into custody in Texarkana.
Roane admitted knowing and traveling with the girl during an interview with police.
Roane was indicted by a federal grand jury in January and pleaded guilty in April.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in Fayetteville.
The case was investigated by the Rogers Police Department, Texarkana Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case.
NW News on 08/10/2018