CHARLOTTE, NC — A U.S. District Judge sentenced a 41-year-old pimp to 40 years in prison after he was convicted on charges that included the sex trafficking of a minor.
Kenwaniee Tate, of Charlotte, was sentenced for the sex trafficking of a minor, sex trafficking by fraud, force and committing sex trafficking of a minor while being required to register as a sex offender. In addition to the 40 year sentence, Tate will serve a lifetime under court supervision and pay a $42,100 restitution to the sex trafficking victim.
According to officials, from September 2014 to February 2015, Tate forced a 15-year-old runaway into a life of prostitution. Officials say Tate and the victim moved from hotel to hotel, he advertised her on websites, arranged the meetings for sexual encounters, and controlled the profits from her prostitution while using them to support himself.
Tate would also abused the victim in an effort to control her, according to reports. Evidence and testimony given in court revealed that Tate would slap the minor victim, punch her in the face, pull her hair, throw her to the ground, and slam her head into the wall when she disobeyed him. Tate would only hit her in the face one time to avoid bruising and hindering her potential profits, officials say.
Police say the sex trafficking came to an end on February 17, 2015 when officers found the victim hiding in Tate’s hotel room closet while searching for another missing minor.
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Court documents show that Tate was registered as a sex offender in North Carolina due to previous convictions of criminal sexual conduct in Minnesota.
Tate was also convicted in a Minnesota federal court for his involvement in a sex trafficking ring in which members would transport adult and juvenile females from Minnesota to Las Vegas to engage in commercial sex acts. Tate was sentenced to 16-months for his involvement in that case.
