NORFOLK, Va. — A Norfolk man pleaded guilty to flying runaway teens to Hampton Roads and forced them into sex work as part of a human trafficking scheme, according to court documents filed in Norfolk Federal Court.
32-year-old Denzel Loftin is accused of luring both a 14-year-old and 17-year-old girl to the area.
The FBI’s Norfolk office worked with agencies across the country to catch Loftin. Earlier this year, Loftin pled guilty to sex trafficking a minor.
In September 2022, an undercover law enforcement officer began interacting with Loftin. The officer was posing as a 17-year-old girl living in Pennsylvania. That's when Loftin offered to buy the undercover officer a bus ticket to Virginia to come work for the self-proclaimed pimp, unaware it was a setup.
The following month, authorities caught him flying two teens to the area.
In October 2022, the Denver Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force sent over information about a missing 14-year-old girl who they believed had been trafficked to Virginia.
According to court documents in Norfolk Federal Court, authorities saw the child on online commercial sex websites, advertising her as a sex worker in Hampton Roads.
The documents show Loftin sent the teen flight information to get her to the area. They also said Loftin took all of the proceeds for any "dates" she worked for him.
The FBI and Chesapeake Police set up an undercover sting operation at a hotel in Chesapeake, where they were set up to meet with Loftin and two teens.
According to the documents, the 14-year-old showed up to the hotel with a 17-year-old girl - both homeless runaways. The 17-year-old was identified as a missing girl from St. Louis, Missouri.
"Children that are displaced from housing, children that are aging out of foster care, those are some of the vulnerable populations that we do see. We call that disconnected youth," said Courtney Pierce.
Pierce works with human trafficking victims at Samaritan House in Virginia Beach. She said there are a lot of victims out there. In 2021, the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline tracked more than 16,000 victims.
Pierce and the Samaritan House are part of the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force to provide support and resources to victims.
According to Pierce, there are warning signs of trafficking.
"Something looks like dynamics of someone in distress, someone who has been traumatized," she said. "Someone who seems fearful of the person they are with," said Pierce.
She encourages anyone who has gone through this to seek help at their own pace.
"You are the expert in your own story. If you choose and whenever you choose to seek support, know that there are safe folks and safe organizations around that want to hear your story," Pierce said.
Authorities arrested Loftin in the Young Terrace community in November. They say Loftin smashed his phone as authorities approached him. He will be sentenced November 2nd. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and maximum penalty of life in prison.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Attorney General Jason Miyares is hosting an Anti-human trafficking summit in Richmond Monday and Tuesday. He and other state leaders hosted a prayer dinner Monday night.
They’re hosting a forum Tuesday from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Pierce points to the National Human Trafficking Hotline (888-373-7888), Polaris, Transitions Family Violence, Safe Harbor and Lampstand as great resources for people to reach out to.