Philly-Area Sex Trafficker Gets 23 Years In Federal Prison

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia man will spend nearly two dozen years in federal prison after being convicted of sex trafficking multiple victims, one of them being a minor.

United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero Wednesday said Kevin L. Smith, 29, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 23 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of a minor, and three counts of sex trafficking by force, threats of force, coercion and attempt in December 2023.

Smith was charged in August 2021 and those charges stemmed from Smith’s operation of a sex trafficking ring in Philadelphia and the surrounding region, including Bucks and Delaware counties.

In September 2019, Smith knowingly harbored, maintained, and advertised a minor, knowing the minor would be caused to engage in a commercial sex act. Authorities said he also operated a sex trafficking enterprise at various times over a period of two years from July 2015 to July 2017, during which he used physical threats to force two young women to have sex for money.