A Denver judge handed down what's believed to be the longest sentence for a human trafficking conviction in United States history Thursday: 448 years.
Robert Hawkins, a 44-year-old Denver man, was sentenced to a historic 448 years in prison Thursday on a series of charges including human trafficking, pimping, sexual assault and sexual exploitation, according to court records.
The sentence isn't just the longest recorded in Colorado, but in the United States, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Colorado's previous sentencing record was 401 years after a sentence adjustment in Arapahoe County, Denver Chief Deputy District Attorney Lara Mullin said in a Thursday press conference.
Encompassed in Hawkins' 448-year sentence is another 200 years for other charges that he will serve concurrently, Mullin said.
Between 2018 and 2021, Hawkins exploited four adult women and two children in Denver, using physical violence and threats to keep the victims under his control and profiting from the sale of their bodies, according to a news release from the Denver District Attorney's Office. Hawkins also shot a sex buyer after he dropped off one of the victims.
"Like most human traffickers, Robert Hawkins showed no regard for anybody but himself, taking advantage of six extremely vulnerable victims," Denver District Attorney Beth McCann stated in the release. "This sentence should send the message that human trafficking of any kind will not be allowed in any way in Denver, and that those convicted of the crime will pay a significant price for it."
A jury found Hawkins guilty in March on 18 charges, including three counts of human trafficking of adults, one count of human trafficking a child, four counts of pimping an adult, one count of pimping a child, one count of sexually assaulting a child and two counts of first-degree assault, according to a statement from the Denver District Attorney's Office.
In a search warrant affidavit, one of the victims described Hawkins as "her master," describing how the girls — including one as young as 13 years old — were forced to cook his meals and make money for him through commercial sex acts.
"The girls were required to make a minimum of $500 per day," the affidavit stated. "They were also required to make a $5,000 quota to gain Hawkins' trust. This quota was intended to help pay for a fake identification and birth certificate in order for the girls to travel to and perform sex work in California."
One of the victims told police she tried to take Hawkins' car and escape the apartment, but the man caught her and physically assaulted her as punishment, the affidavit stated.
The investigation into Hawkins began in December 2019 when one adult victim came forward, and an arrest warrant was issued on Oct. 6, 2021, according to court documents. Hawkins was arrested on Nov. 9, 2021 in California.
During the investigation, police discovered a previous FBI case against Hawkins from 2012 where the man was charged with multiple counts of child sex trafficking and convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor through Arapahoe County Courts, according to a probable cause statement.
"What we know about human traffickers is that where they can exploit one person, then they'll find two, three, four, five more," Mullin said.
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