Atlanta man gets life in prison for prostituting, imprisoning girl

A man was sentenced to life in prison for prostituting a 15-year-old girl after imprisoning her in his southwest Atlanta home, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

A jury convicted Dwayne Shaw, 36, on July 1 of various charges, including human trafficking, pimping, aggravated child molestation, false imprisonment and statutory rape.

Shaw first encountered the teenager online and then met her in person in November 2012, said Yvette Jones, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

“Shaw lured the young girl into a life of prostitution,” Jones said in a news release. “He began to schedule ‘dates’ for her at local hotels and pocketed all of the money she earned.”

The girl alerted friends and family through text messages that she was being kept at Shaw’s home, and police were able to track the texts, Jones said.

“The victim was discovered barricaded in the attic,” Jones said.