North Chicago man sentenced to prison for attempting to transport teen for prostitution
A North Chicago man has been sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for attempting to transport a 15-year-old girl to Wisconsin to engage in prostitution, authorities said.
Deronarte Norwood, 32, of North Chicago, was sentenced to 27 years and 6 months in federal prison Thursday by U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman. The sentencing came after Norwood was found guilty by a jury in 2018, officials said.
Officials said Norwood physically and psychologically harmed the victim by sending her to have sex with strangers and used her in graphic online advertisements offering commercial sex. He met the girl in 2015 and pocketed the money she was paid, authorities said.
Norwood was arrested in Waukegan in October 2016 and has been in custody since, authorities said.
The Lake County Special Investigations Group, the Winthrop Harbor Police Department, and the New Albany, Indiana, Police Department, assisted the FBI and United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois in the case.
"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.
People who believe they are a victim of sexual exploitation are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by logging on anytime to missingkids.com/home or by calling (800) 843-5678.