ATLANTA — Editor's note: The video above is from a previous version of the story.
A 38-year-old man has pleaded guilty in a case involving the trafficking of a 17-year-old girl in Fulton County, according to Attorney General Chris Carr on Thursday.
Devin Smith pleaded guilty to one count of pandering of a person under the age of 18. He was sentenced to 10 years, with the first 18 months to be served in prison and the remainder to be strict probation. He will also be required to register as a sex offender, according to a release.
The 17-year-old was found inside a room at the Travelodge along Old National Highway in College Park. She was recovered during "Operation Not Forgotten."
Hannah Palmquist, who leads the Human Trafficking Prosecution unit, was on the scene back in 2020 when this missing Missouri teenager was found in the motel room.
"This is a case that started small, and it first appeared to be small," Palmquist explained.
However, as she and her team continued to talk to the victim and started uncovering digital forensics, they quickly realized they had a lot of work ahead of them.
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'This is a victim who had been trafficked over and over and over again," she said. "It's also a case where we as a team learned to go after buyers as well as sellers, so we were able to greatly expand our approach in this case by looking into anyone who had purchased the victim for sex in addition to anyone who had sold her."
The first seller the team was able to identify was 31-year-old Steven Stone, of Lithonia. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years, with 13 years to be served in prison.
Palmquist's team was able to identify eight men who they accused of buying the teenager for sex. Seven of them have been convicted, including:
- 27-year-old Tony Turner: Sentenced to 10 years, with three years to be served in prison.
- 27-year-old Kerry Barnett: Sentenced to 10 years, with 18 months to be served in prison.
- 29-year-old Mintaka Bay: Sentenced to 10 years, with 18 months to be served in prison.
- 30-year-old Undra Henderson: Sentenced to 10 years with three years to be served in prison.
- 40-year-old Alif Morgan: Sentenced to 10 years, with 18 months to be served in prison.
- 41-year-old Daniel Callaway: Sentenced to 10 years, with 18 months to be served in prison.
- 31-year-old Warren Watts: Sentenced to 10 years, with 18 months to be served in prison.
During their investigation, Palmquist and her team identified a second alleged seller, Terry Florence, of Conyers. He was indicted the first time on this case involving the missing Missouri teenager. However, over the summer, he was indicted again after Palmquist said her team identified two additional victims. He was on the run for several months but was finally captured and booked in September.
The Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit then announced two arrests involving Denorris Hutchinson and his girlfriend, Natasha Bridges. Both were arrested in Clayton County. Hutchinson was picked up on Oct. 11, and Bridges was just arrested on Oct. 26.
Contact the Human Trafficking Hotline
- If you suspect human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at (888) 373-7888.
- To report suspected human trafficking in Georgia, call the Statewide 24-Hour Human Trafficking Hotline at (866) 363-4842.
- Call 911 or your local law enforcement agency to file a report if you believe a victim is in imminent danger.
- For more information on how to get help for both national and foreign-born victims of human trafficking, visit www.endhtga.org.