A man was sentenced to eight years in prison Friday for acting as a pimp for a 14-year-old runaway girl as well as other crimes, Gwinnett County prosecutors said.
Kwabena Bomani Higgins, 33, pleaded guilty to three counts of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, pimping, enticing a child for indecent purposes and statutory rape, according to the Gwinnett District Attorney’s Office. A rape charge was dropped.
In January 2015, the victim ran away from her DeKalb County home and met Higgins, prosecutors said. Higgins and another man took the victim to a hotel in Gwinnett, where they advertised her online for sex and gave her a cellphone and a script.
The men arranged for the teen to engage in multiple instances of prostitution for their own financial gain, prosecutors said. When the victim wanted to leave, Higgins produced a gun and had sex with her.
After the victim left and returned, she eventually was taken to a hospital, where she disclosed what happened to her.
Gwinnett, DeKalb and federal authorities worked to identify and capture Higgins and the other man, prosecutors said.
After the prison term, Higgins will have 12 years on probation, prosecutors said. Also, he can’t have contact with the victim. There are also sex offender conditions.
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