An Indiana man who advertised minors for sex on controversial classified advertising website Backpage.com was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday, the Department of Justice said.
The sentencing comes only weeks after the Justice Department shut down Backpage and charged seven of its officials with 96 counts related to the facilitation of prostitution.
Ronnie Cosby, 42, of Hammond, Indiana, was convicted last year on one count of sex trafficking a minor, two counts of transporting a minor for prostitution and two counts of producing child pornography, according to the Justice Department.
Prosecutors allege that between December 2014 and February 2015, Cosby caused a 14-year-old homeless girl and a 15-year-old high school student to engage in prostitution at his Hammond apartment and other locations.
Cosby met the 14-year-old juvenile on an online dating website and within hours began prostituting her at his apartment, court documents said. The second juvenile, was introduced to Cosby through a friend and within a day offered her sexual services online in exchange for money, according to court filings.
Cosby is also alleged to have taken sexually explicit images of both minors using his mobile phone and uploaded the images to Backpage.com, where he offered them to strangers for sex, prosecutors said. Court records also disclosed that Coby texted images of victims to friends and repeat prostitution customers.
“Mr. Cosby engaged in horrific acts of sex trafficking involving minors,” said Thomas L. Kirsch II, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana. “As demonstrated by the conviction and sentence in this case, such acts carry severe consequences for those who commit them. Sex trafficking and crimes involving minor victims will never be tolerated.”
The case was investigated by Homeland Security, the FBI and and Hammond Police Department.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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