Evil kidnapper planned to sell woman into sex slavery, ended up with 35 years in prison
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Texas sex trafficker faces the consequences of kidnapping and attempted sex trafficking

A Dallas man was sentenced to 35 years in prison last week following his 2015 conviction on kidnapping charges. His felony conviction stemmed from the 2012 kidnapping of a victim he planned to sell into sex slavery.

According to a statement released by the Department of Justice in 2015, Steric Paul Mitchell, 45, hired his friend, Gregory Hunt, to pick up a woman at a hotel under the pretense of hiring her to dance for a group of men at a private party. Instead, Hunt drove the woman to an abandoned house in Dallas where Mitchell was waiting.

Mitchell threatened the 23-year-old woman with a firearm and shocked her with a Taser. Hunt raped the woman while Mitchell stood guard with the gun. The men then bound the victim’s feet and wrists, wrapped her in a sheet, and drove her to another location where Mitchell raped her and told her he was going to sell her into sexual slavery.

The men held the woman overnight, before transporting her to a house in Duncanville, Texas, where Mitchell sexually assaulted her again. The victim was able to locate a cell phone and place four 911 calls leading Duncanville Police to locate and rescue her.   

Mitchell, a former felon, was arrested at the home where the assault took place. Hunt was later arrested after authorities determined his whereabouts in August after tracing text messages he sent to the victim, according to the Dallas News. 

Hunt plead guilty in 2015 to one count of aggravated kidnapping and is currently serving a five-year sentence in Texas State Prison.

U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay sentenced Mitchell to serve a total of 420 months in federal prison.

“The sentence imposed today reflects the egregiousness of Mitchell’s conduct in this case. It is difficult to imagine the level of suffering his victim experienced. The sentence handed down today takes into account that suffering and ensures that Mitchell will never again commit such crimes,” said John Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

[Feature Photo: Department of Justice]