Reading woman sentenced to 15-years in prison for sex trafficking two teens in 2017
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READING, Pa. - A Reading woman has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after prosecutors said she drugged and sex-trafficked two teenage girls for at least three months in 2017.
Investigators said 27-year-old Melissa Madera sold a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl for sex from August to October of 2017. A press release by U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said the young victims were forced to comply by being drugged with ecstasy and cocaine.
The victims were advertised by Madera on a sex trafficking website and sold for $200 an hour, according to prosecutors. The meetings happened at several Reading-area hotels including the Quality Inn, Kleins’ Motel and Roadway Inn.
"Madera advertised these children like objects and plied them with drugs so she’d be more easily able to control them. Her behavior is horrifying, and she deserves every single day of that prison sentence," Williams said.
After the 15-year-old victim's mother reported her missing to the Reading Police Department in Oct. 2017, prosecutors said Madera assaulted the victim and called her a "rat."
Madera plead guilty to two counts of sex trafficking of minors and child pornography charges last September, according to officials. In addition to her 15-year prison sentence, Madera faces a lifetime of supervised release.
"The crimes committed by this defendant will physically and psychologically impact her victims for years to come," Williams said.
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