Repeat Offender Sentenced For Sex Trafficking In San Diego

SAN DIEGO, CA – A repeat offender was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for compelling a 17-year-old girl into the underage sex trade after escaping from a halfway house where he had been completing a custody stint.

Anthony Khyree "Ant" Dotson, 26, also will have to undergo a decade of post-confinement supervised release under the terms of his new sentence for sex trafficking of a minor, handed down by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw.

The latest case against Dotson began in April 2015, when a high school counselor who suspected that a student had become a victim of sex trafficking contacted the San Diego Police Department, court documents state.

A vehicle that the victim had been seen getting into after school was traced by detectives to Dotson, who was listed as an escapee from a Los Angeles halfway house where he had been serving the end of a federal prison sentence for a 2012 conviction for sex trafficking involving two 16-year old girls.

In May 2015, investigators came across a posting for sex services involving a minor on backpage.com, and one of them called a telephone number listed on the ad, posing as a prospective customer. A girl answered and directed the detective to a hotel in Mission Valley.

Detectives subsequently saw Dotson with the victim in a parking lot outside the hotel, according to prosecutors.

The girl exited the car and directed the supposed "customer" to a room, where she was arrested.

There, detectives found men's clothing and used condoms in a trash can. Video surveillance captured images of Dotson checking into the room, which was registered to him, wearing the clothing later discovered there.

Dotson was arrested while waiting in his vehicle in the hotel parking lot.

Sabraw, who also had sentenced Dotson for his prior offense, said he hoped Dotson "would move away" from such crimes, which would net him more significant prison time if repeated.

Sabraw noted that the penalties for the offense are harsh "for good reason," as victims face the prospect of permanent trauma from their experiences.

Acting U.S. Attorney Alana Robinson said her office would "continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to detect and prosecute persons who engage in sex trafficking, a form of modern-day slavery."

By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock