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Fort Smith Man Sentenced For Sex Trafficking Says He’ll ‘Die Pimping’

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — A Fort Smith man sentenced to federal prison for sex trafficking made calls from jail saying he would be free in six years and that ...
Roane

FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — A Fort Smith man sentenced to federal prison for sex trafficking made calls from jail saying he would be free in six years and that he will “die pimping.”

Kenyan Roane was sentenced Wednesday (Aug. 8) in U.S. District Court to more than 12 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release.

Roane, 31, pleaded guilty in April to one count of child sex trafficking.

The U.S. attorney’s office described Roane as a “career criminal” and presented calls Roane made from the Washington County Detention Center where he said that in six years, “I’ll be right back on the street … right back making that money.”

“I ain’t doing no trippin’,” Roane said. “I’m gonna’ die pimping.”

Roane must serve 10 years before he’s eligible for release under federal guidelines.

Roane’s public defender argued that the 16-year-old girl he trafficked was an admitted prostitute and Roane was just one of her many “pimps,” according to court documents.

His defense also said the girl appeared to negotiate prices with suitors and failed to produce nude photos of her that she said Roane took.

Roane was arrested in January after the girl told authorities he forced her to “prostitute for money” at hotels in Fayetteville, Fort Smith and Jonesboro.

She said Roane kidnapped her and set up clients by posting nude photos of her to the Internet. She added that he had control of her finances and electronics, including her cell phone.

Roane, who also goes by “Kordai Youngpayme Arnold”, was arrested after a sting operation by the River Valley Child Exploitation Task Force.

An investigator went undercover as a 16-year-old girl to contact Roane through a phone number he provided.

During the call, police recorded Roane allegedly saying he was “a pimp” who “promotes females,” according to court documents.

Roane went on to say that he would pocket the girl’s earnings to take care of her.

The investigator continued to contact Roane through January, eventually setting up a plan to meet at a gas station in Texarkana, where he was arrested Jan. 8.

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