On Friday, the Iowa couple involved in the sex trafficking incident an observant trucker brought to the attention of police pleaded guilty in federal court.
Aldair Hodza, 36, and Laura Sorensen, 31, of Clive, Iowa were charged with sex trafficking by force, fraud/or coercion, and interstate transportation of a person for prostitution. They used torture and sexual abuse and forced the victim to engage in prostitution, according to authorities.
The couple avoided going to trial by submitting a plea, accepted by U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson, according to WTVR-TV in Richmond, Va. They now face a mandatory-minimum term of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison when they are sentenced in August.
Terms of the plea agreement recommend sentencing of 35 years. The recommendation is not binding on the court.
An arrest was made on January 6, after truck driver Kevin Kimmell observed suspicious behavior at the an RV in a truck stop and called police. New Kent County Sheriff’s Deputies and Virginia State Police troopers responded to a gas station in Providence Forge.
At the time, Kimmel, who was in his truck parked at the Pilot truck stop, said he saw a distraught looking girl in the windows of an RV. He said she abruptly disappeared behind a black curtain, that’s when he quickly called police who investigated and made the arrests.
Kimmel, a Con-way Truckload driver from Tavares, Fla., has since been honored by Truckers Against Trafficking for his actions in January.
