Man convicted of sex trafficking charges in Tennessee

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – A man convicted of forcing women to engage in prostitution in Tennessee and Texas faces up to life in prison.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Memphis said Monday that 41-year-old Antonio Hawkins was found guilty of multiple counts of sex trafficking after a three-day trial.

The prosecutors’ statement says Hawkins took three women from New Orleans to Houston “to put the women out on the prostitution track” in April 2016.

While in Houston, Hawkins picked up a 15-year-old runaway and forced her into prostitution as well.

Hawkins then brought the women to Memphis, where he hit them, pointed a gun at them and fired warning shots to keep them from leaving.

Hawkins faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Nov. 2.

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