Admitted Human Trafficker Sentenced

Tilford Black, a 48-year-old with a criminal history that includes a manslaughter conviction from Florida, now has a new distinction. He is the first person to be convicted and sentenced under the state�s new human trafficking statute. Black pleaded guilty in December to human trafficking and accepting the earnings of a prostitute, both felonies. Black, who has spent the past year in the Metropolitan Detention Center, will spend another 3 years there without the possibility of earning good time. That was the maximum time available under the 2008 statute, which ties the highest penalties to the youngest victims. The plea agreement specifies that any sentence will be served at MDC, and even when 2nd District Judge Charles Brown explained that he could be released sooner by going into the state correctional system, Black said he preferred the local jail. Assistant Attorney General Maria Sanchez-Gagne told Brown that the defendant was a career criminal who forced the 18-year-old victim into prostitution.