A Portland man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the sex trafficking of a minor in a case investigated by several area law enforcement agencies, including Vancouver police.
U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon also sentenced Antonio Vernell Porter, 28, to 10 years of supervised release, according to a news release.
Porter pleaded guilty to one of three counts in October 2014.
According to court documents, the crimes took place between 2009 and 2010. The government alleged there were two victims.
In an interview with police, the second victim said she started working for Porter when she was 15 years old because he threatened to hurt her family if she didn’t. She said she performed dozens of sex acts for money over several months in Oregon, California, Nevada and Washington.
Officers responded to a report in August 2009 of Porter allegedly striking the victim on the head with a toddler’s bicycle and cutting her hand with a knife. They couldn’t find Porter at that time, but three months later, police again responded to a report of Porter having beaten the victim, then 17, when she refused to “go work,” the news release said.
The victim described Porter as her “pimp” and said he punched her in the face when she refused to get out of his vehicle. She explained that Porter normally dropped her off on Portland’s Northeast 82nd Avenue to work, and said “anytime I don’t wanna work the street, I get a beating.”
While police were speaking with the victim, Porter reportedly called her cellphone. She put the phone on speaker so police could hear the conversation. Officers allegedly heard Porter tell the victim she “better be up on the avenue,” according to the news release.
