North Chicago Sex Trafficker Gets More Than 27 Years In Prison

WAUKEGAN, IL — A North Chicago man was sentenced to 27 and a half years (330 months) in prison Thursday by a federal judge for sex trafficking charges stemming from an incident involving a minor , according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Deronarte Norwood, 32, was arrested in October 2016 in Waukegan and was convicted last year by a federal jury in Chicago of attempting to transport a minor to Wisconsin from Illinois to engage in prostitution.

According to a release, Norwood physically and emotionally harmed the 15-year-old girl after meeting her in 2015. In addition, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Norwood exploited the teen online via graphic advertisements offering commercial sex, sent her to have sex with strangers, left her by herself in hotel rooms, and kept the money she made.

“Defendant is among those criminals who destroy the lives of our communities’ most precious resource – children,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicole M. Kim and Abigail Peluso argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. “Defendant was a predator who targeted, assaulted, and repeatedly exploited [the victim].”

Anyone who believes they are a victim of sexual exploitation is encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by visiting missingkids.com/home or by calling 1-800-843-5678. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.