In January 2011, according to the DA's office, investigators received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that led them to Sanders by way of sexually oriented online advertising featuring a sixteen-year-old victim. That led to an undercover prostitution sting during which the girl was taken into custody.
Under questioning, the teenager told cops Sanders was pimping her out -- and that's not all. She claimed she was dependent on him for food and clothing, but he provided little of either...meaning, in the case of the latter, that the stuff he gave her to wear was sexually explicit. The young woman also asserted that Sanders beat her, raped her and verbally abused her.
Hence, the arrest of Sanders. But after observing his trial in July, the jury returned a not-guilty verdict on one count of sexual assault and couldn't come to unanimous agreement on a charge of child trafficking.
Still, jurors concurred on plenty, including Sanders's guilt when it came to contributing to the delinquency of a child, pandering of a child, pimping of a child, procurement of a child and what are described as two violent crime counts -- new marks on a record that already showed one felony conviction. The total adds up to a 34-year sentence and a requirement that he register as a sex offender.
As for the girl, who's said to have run away from home at age thirteen to escape what Jeffco DA Scott Storey describes as a "difficult home environment," she appeared in court this week to watch Sanders's sentencing. The DA's office says she told the judge she no longer feels like a victim. Indeed, she attended her prom this year, after which she graduated from high school -- and she's currently enrolled in college.
Sounds like a happy ending...for everyone but Sanders. Here's a larger look at his mug shot.
More from our Colorado Crimes archive: "Hassan Mayo allegedly sold woman to another pimp for $400."
