Police find missing 14-year-old girl in Colorado; alleged gang member pimp sentenced
A 23-year-old Aurora man was recently sentenced to prison after police found a 14-year-old girl working on his behalf on East Colfax Avenue.
Kennedy Allen was ordered by an Adams County judge to serve 20 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections, according to a press release from the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Allen received the sentence March 11 after pleading guilty six months earlier to Pimping of a Child, a Class 3 felony.
Allen was a documented member of a criminal street gang, according to the DA's press release, and coordinated clients' sexual encounters with the girl to raise funds for the gang.
The girl was discovered standing on the corner of East Colfax and North Clinton Street by undercover officers on September 13, 2024, according to the DA's press release. She was dressed in "sexually revealing clothing" and "engaged with passing drivers."
When the girl entered a car, the officers - members of the Aurora Police Department's Direct Action Response Team (DART) - pulled the vehicle over.
They learned the girl had been reported missing a month earlier.
"During interviews, the victim described being coerced and manipulated by Allen, who controlled her access to money, transportation, and communication, limiting her ability to leave the situation," the DA's office stated in its press release. "Officers observed signs of trauma consistent with sexual exploitation and trafficking."
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Allen's phone and social media accounts. There, they found Allen's messages arranging locations, times and prices for sex acts with the girl. They also found communications used as evidence of his control of the girl.
Allen was on probation for a felony drug possession case when the pimping investigation was launched. Prosecutors believed Allen previously trafficked other children, per the DA's office.
"This prosecution and subsequent prison sentence send a clear and unmistakable message: if you engage in the human trafficking of children, we will go after you, and we will hold you accountable," District Attorney Brian Mason stated in the press release. "The defendant in this case preyed upon a young, vulnerable girl and sold her into sexual slavery. This was a despicable act, and he will now go to prison for it. We will continue fighting for victims, holding predators accountable, and pushing for laws at the Colorado Legislature that strengthen our ability to combat human trafficking."
"Cases like this represent some of the most predatory crimes our detectives investigate, targeting vulnerable youth for exploitation and profit," added Marc Paolino, a commander who oversees the Aurora Police Department's Investigations Bureau. Paolino praised APD Human Trafficking Detective Adam Hughes and members of APD's DART and Gang Intervention Unit for gathering evidence necessary to the case.
The DA's office also credited From Silenced to Saved (FSTS), an organization that works with police agencies to improve interactions with trafficking victims from initial and through investigations and prosecutions.
"They serve children who have been sexually exploited in Colorado," the DA's office stated in its press release, "and they responded immediately to assist in this case."
"Throughout this process, the survivor was understandably fearful to engage - a reality that too often leads to trafficking cases being dismissed," Jenelle Goodrich, Executive Director of From Silenced to Saved, stated in the press release. "But FSTS, the Aurora Police Department, and the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office remained committed to pursuing justice without placing pressure on her. Their collaboration helped lift an enormous burden from this young woman. This is what justice should look like: coordinated, compassionate, and focused on accountability to the one that caused harm. We applaud this jurisdiction's determination to combat child trafficking and protect vulnerable youth."
