Jacksonville human trafficker gets 10 years in prison

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville man was sentenced to 10 years in state prison after pleading guilty to multiple human trafficking charges, the State Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

Patrick Lawrence Trottie, 44, entered guilty pleas to one count of coercing commercial sexual activity for human trafficking and one count of deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution.

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Following his prison sentence, Trottie has been ordered to serve 10 years' probation. In addition, he will also be required to register as a sex offender.

The case stems from an investigation in early 2017 that found Trottie took several women captive, plied them with heroin and then forced them to work off through drug debt through prostitution.

Prosecutors said Trottie advertised the women on Backpage.com, a now-defunct website frequently used by human and sex traffickers. He deterred his victims from escaping with drugs and violence.