Sacramento County jury convicts man of pimping, forcing victim into prostitution, DA says
A Sacramento Superior Court jury has convicted a man who forced a victim into prostitution, including performing sex acts in a parking lot to humiliate her in front of his friends, prosecutors said.
The jury on Thursday found Kenneth Hawkins, 36, guilty of human trafficking, pimping and pandering, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release Friday.
On March 1, a witness told the Sacramento Police Department that Hawkins was forcing the victim to perform oral sex on another man in a parking lot on Franklin Boulevard, according to prosecutors.
When police found Hawkins and the victim, the woman told officers that Hawkins had been forcing her to engage in prostitution, prosecutors said.
Hawkins was angry at her on that day, the victim also told police, and he humiliated her by forcing her to perform oral sex on another man in the parking lot as Hawkins’ friends stood by and taunted her, according to the news release.
Prosecutors said Hawkins’ friends recorded a portion of that sex act and posted the video on social media. Officers later found the video, along with security video that corroborated the statements from the victim and the witness who called police, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Hawkins remained in custody at the Sacramento County Jail. Prosecutors said Hawkins faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
He is scheduled be sentenced October 16 by Judge Steve White. Deputy District Attorney Courtney Martin prosecuted the case.
