A Lincoln man is heading to federal prison on four charges related to child sex abuse and human trafficking.
On Wedne, 33 year old Devin Ashford was convicted by a jury in U.S. District Court in Nebraska.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says multiple victims testified at trial that Ashford beat, starved, and pushed cocaine on them to get them to perform sexual acts. Prosecutors also say Ashford recruited minors to engage in commercial sex acts to make him money.
According to prosecutors, Ashford transported a girl under the age of 18 across state lines to engage in sex in March 2014 and again in June 2016, as well as another underage victim in March 2018 and June 2018. The evidence at trial showed that at least three of the minors were children had either run away from home or were in the foster care system when Ashford targeted them for his trafficking operation. Ashford was also convicted of producing child pornography when he enticed one of his victims to send sexually explicit photos of herself.
Ashford was found guilty of sex trafficking a minor, sex trafficking by fraud, force or coercion, production of child pornography and interstate transportation for prostitution. A sentencing date has been scheduled for November 13th. At sentencing, Ashford faces mandatory minimum sentences of 15 years on three of the counts and a statutory maximum of life on one count.