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Benjamin Lawton, 42, of Glen Burnie, was sentenced to 19 years behind bars followed by 25 years of supervised release for using eight women to work for him as part of a prostitution business he was running.
According to court documents, beginning in 2020, Lawton recruited, enticed, transported, and advertised several women by force, threats of force, or coercion into working as prostitutes.
During the operation, he would bring the women across state lines, transporting them himself or paying for them to fly to their next "date."
Lawton admitted in his plea that the women "were expected to provide Lawton with all the money they made from commercial sex acts and Lawton threatened them with physical harm if they did not follow the rules."
In one case, Lawton met one victim through a friend in March 2021, and Lawton explained to her that "she belonged to him," and then he took photos for ads promoting his prostitution business.
When that woman mistook a "text code," prosecutors said that he slapped her so hard that her eardrum burst.
That particular woman was prostituted in hotels near the BWI airport, around Washington, DC, and in Northern Virginia. All of the money she made went directly to Lawton.
A second victim, who was close friends with the first, failed to perform her "date" the way Lawton required, and in response, he assaulted the first woman in retaliation.
He also punched another woman, threatened to kill a fourth "routinely," mentioned killing another's family if she tried to leave, and refused to let yet another woman go to the ER when he attacked her.
Between 2020 and 2022, Lawton deposited almost $100,000 in cash into his bank accounts made from the exploitation and trafficking of his victims, officials said.
Upon his release from prison, a judge also ordered that Lawton register as a sex offender wherever he works, studies, or lives. He also has to pay restitution to his victims for their losses.
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