Man Gets 10 Years for Pimping Girls, 15 and 17, at Eagan Hotel

A St. Paul man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the prostitution of two underage girls at an Eagan hotel.

Brandon Darnel Barnes, 25, was given a lesser sentence than his co-defendant because Ramsey County District Judge Lezlie Ott Marek found that he was less culpable, the Pioneer Press reported.

Barnes rented a hotel room at Microtel Inn & Suites in which the two girls, ages 15 and 17, were prostituted on May 9, 2012. Beforehand, photos of the girls were taken in Barnes' bathroom and posted in Backpage.com ads for sexual services.

"My only mistake was to put the room in my name," Barnes said during sentencing, according to the Pioneer Press. "This case is the wrong place at the wrong time—[I'm a] victim of circumstances."

Barnes's co-defendant, Giorgio Baymon, was sentenced to almost 14 years in prison in January. He put the 15-year-old girl's cell phone number in the online ad, and accepted payment of cash and marijuana.