DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A Lithonia man was sentenced to life in jail for selling two 16-year-old girls for sex in DeKalb County.
Robert Tate, 30, was found guilty of rape, two counts of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, two counts of pimping a person under the age of 18, and two counts of interference with custody.
According to a press release from the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, in March 2014, Tate and Jamal King met two girls who had run away from their respective foster homes in Macon. The men reportedly began selling the girls for sex via backstage.com, and taking them to various hotels in DeKalb.
Officials say one of the girls was five months pregnant in 2014 when Tate choked, physically abused and raped the teen. Several weeks later, she escaped Tate and reported him to police on Dec. 9, 2014.
Tate remains in the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections.
King pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 13 years in prison, with seven on probation.
A third man is the father of the child of the girl who was pregnant; he is currently being held at the DeKalb County Jail awaiting trial for statutory rape charges.