A DeKalb County self-avowed pimp could serve more than 200 years in prison for running an extensive teen prostitution ring.
Darryl Bearnard Curry, who called himself “Pimp DC,” made videos of himself from the Decatur Square – at times directly in the shadow of the DeKalb County courthouse – espousing the virtues of pimping and providing instruction for up-and-coming pimps, authorities said.
“He considered himself ‘schooling’ the young pimps who wanted to get into the game,” DeKalb County assistant district attorney Dalia Racine said.
Monday, a DeKalb County Superior Court jury convicted Curry, 48, of multiple counts of sex trafficking, aggravated battery, pimping a person under 18, false imprisonment, sexual exploitation of children, first-degree cruelty to children and obstruction.
Prosecutors identified at least five girls over a two-year period whom Curry was prostituting.
But the indictments pointed specifically to a pair of teens – ages 16 and 17 – whom Curry had under his control between Sept. 17 and Oct. 8, 2011.
“Our older victim … he beat her with a coat hanger and with a belt,” Racine said. “He would force her to have sex with him … and she would intervene when he tried to have sex with the younger victim.”
She also had some injuries when she was located, Racine said.
On the night of Oct. 7, 2011, Racine said Curry took the two girls to a “pimp party” where they were to be offered for their services. Before they left, they were given the drug Ecstasy, she said.
“Victim 1 starts tripping off the (Ecstasy) and they go home,” Racine said, referring to the 17-year-old. “While at home, she had to sleep in the room with him.”
Racine said in the early morning hours of Oct. 8, the girl came to an epiphany.
“She said she feels like she can’t take it anymore,” Racine said. “She said if this was her only opportunity and she was going to get out, she’s got to get out now.”
The teen took one of Curry’s pre-paid phones and left the apartment, authorities said.
“He wakes up victim Number 2 and says, ‘Your girl just ran … go get her,’” Racine said.
The two girls had discussed flight before, but when they tried to flee together, Curry stopped the younger girl, prosecutors said.
For half an hour, the 17-year-old went from house to house in the south DeKalb County neighborhood, knocking on doors trying to get help.
When police finally arrived, she led them to the home in the 2100 block of Miriam Lane where Curry rented a room and kept the teens, prosecutors said.
Curry refused to let the officer in, and a SWAT team was eventually called to the house to force its way in, Racine said.
“But by then, a lot of evidence had been disposed of,” she said, including cellphone memory cards prosecutors believed held pertinent contact information.
Investigators later learned that the 17-year-old was pregnant, and she didn’t even know, authorities said. The infant died days after being born, Racine said.
A jury deliberated from late Friday afternoon until Monday afternoon before returning guilty verdicts.
Curry was found not guilty of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Racine said, because there were no drug tests to show that the 16-year-old was using Ecstasy.
A co-defendant, John William Anderson, pleaded guilty to charges ofcontributing to the delinquency of a minor and giving false information to police, for renting the space to Curry and being aware of his trafficking activities.
“He could be sentenced to up to 203 years,” Racine said.
Sentencing is set for March 26.
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