Judge hands down record prison term for Minn. sex trafficker

A Ramsey County judge sentenced a convicted sex trafficker on Thursday to 40 years in prison.

The sentence of Otis Washington was the longest imposed on a sex-trafficking defendant in Minnesota history. It sends a message that authorities will hold the traffickers accountable, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said.

Otis Washington was the last of four family members to be sentenced in a case that Choi said involved more than a dozen victims. A brother, Antonio Washington, was sentenced to 36 years for his role in the trafficking ring.

Prosecutors say the brothers placed ads on websites, including Backpage.com. One victim told investigators the Washingtons preyed on women who were "mentally slow" and vulnerable.

Judges and others in the criminal justice system are taking the crime of prostitution more seriously, the county attorney said. The shift began in 2011 when Twin Cities county attorneys said they would no longer prosecute prostituted children and would pursue the traffickers instead.

Since then, courts have delivered "significant sentences in double digits," Choi said. "In Ramsey County, you've seen sentences in the 20s, the 30s, and now today, 40 years."

More work needs to be done to address the demand side of the commercial sex trade, Choi added. "We wouldn't have this problem," he said, "if it weren't for men in our own community who are buying sex online on Backpage.com as if they were buying a pizza."