Rodney Kent, Sex Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2023

A Philadelphia man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for forcibly sex trafficking a minor on Backpage.com.

On June 2022, Rodney Kent, a/k/a “Hott Rodd,” a/k/a “Hott,” 51, of Philadelphia, PA, was convicted at trial of sex trafficking, arising from his forcible coercion of a minor to engage in prostitution.

In 2016, the defendant met the victim on social media and met the teenage victim in person. He then brought the victim to his home, where he manipulated the victim into posing for photographs. The defendant then advertised the minor victim for sex on Backpage.com for nearly two weeks.

During this time, the defendant physically abused the victim, including using lit cigarettes to burn the victim. Law enforcement recovered the victim after the victim escaped from the defendant.

In April 2018, the Justice Department seized Backpage.com, which was the Internet’s leading forum for prostitution ads, including ads depicting the prostitution of children.

The crime that this defendant committed is one of the most devastating to victims, said U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero. “Kent forced a teenager, a minor, to sell their body for his own greed and financial gain. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute these horrific crimes against the most vulnerable victims.”

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tinicum Township Police Department, and Philadelphia Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alexandra M. Lastowski and Vineet Gauri of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Assistant United States Attorney Seth M. Schlessinger, now of the Eastern District of Virginia.

The defendant, Rodney Kent, received a 30-year prison sentence and 10 years of supervised release. The crime occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2016. The case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.