VENTURA, Calif. (AP) â A southern California woman who acted as a dispatcher for a prostitution ring that trafficked dozens of female Chinese nationals has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison.
The Ventura County Star reports that 33-year-old Defeng Hu was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years and 4 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to human trafficking, pimping and money laundering charges.
The Ventura County Sheriff's Office in February 2016 located an advertisement on the classified-ad website Backpage.com that was listed under the escorts section. The advertisement suggested Asian women were offering services, but sheriff's officials say the trafficking group was coercing the women into performing sex acts.
Hu is the fifth defendant to plead guilty in the case.
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Information from: Ventura County Star, http://venturacountystar.com http://venturacountystar.com
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