Man gets 80 years for human trafficking in Georgia

ATLANTA — Authorities say a judge has sentenced a man to 80 years in prison for trafficking victims as young as 15 years old for prostitution.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that 37-year-old Steven Donald Lemery was also sentenced Wednesday to the rest of his life on probation.

Lemery was found guilty on Aug. 24 on six counts of human trafficking, two counts of aggravated child molestation, and enticing a child for indecent purposes and pandering by compulsion.

Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ackley says two of Lemery’s victims were 15 years old at the time of the offenses, and a third was 18. Ackley says one of the 15 year olds and the 18 year old were brought across state lines by Lemery and forced into prostitution.