CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Clayton County man was handed a 70-year prison sentence on Tuesday to bring to a close a Clayton County sex trafficking case in which the victim was a 15-year-old girl.
Theodore Browne was handed the heaviest sentence of the four men convicted of the case. The 70-year prison term all but assures, absent parole, that 31-year-old Browne will spend the overwhelming remainder of his life behind bars.
Browne was sentenced to four 15-year consecutive terms for four trafficking counts plus another 10 years for cruelty to children.
Browne and another man, Christopher Weldon, were found guilty of selling the girl for sex out of Clayton County hotels in 2018. Weldon received a 15-year prison sentence.
Two buyers, Daniel Horne and Gregory Benoit, were also convicted and given prison sentences.
“Theodore Browne, Jr. sold a young girl for sex, and now he is facing the consequences of his illegal actions,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement earlier this month when Browne's conviction was announced.
According to a release by the AG's Office, the newly-formed Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit re-opened the case in 2019 after it had been closed by local authorities.
“This outcome follows years of work by our Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit as we continued to pour over every lead in our pursuit of justice for this victim," Carr said. "Let this serve as a lesson for those who seek to abuse and exploit Georgia’s children – you will be identified, vigorously pursued and aggressively prosecuted.”