RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Two Iowa residents have pleaded guilty in a federal sex trafficking case in Virginia.
Laura Sorensen and Aldair Hodza entered the pleas Friday in federal court in Richmond to sex trafficking and transporting a person across state lines for prostitution.
Court records show Sorensen and Hodza held a 20-year-old woman captive on a trip in December to Virginia and forced her to have sex with men who answered online ads.
Prosecutors say the defendants tortured the woman with lit cigarettes and other heated objects, pierced her feet with nails and poured bleach into her wounds.
The 31-year-old Sorensen and 36-year-old Hodza were arrested Jan. 6 in New Kent County. The residents of Clive, Iowa, both face a minimum of 15 years in prison. Sentencing is set for Aug. 14.
