Iowa Residents Set to be Charged in Virginia Sex Case

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Virginia say two Iowa residents set for sentencing in a sex trafficking case tortured their victim.

Aldair Hodza and Laura Sorensen will be sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Richmond. The Clive, Iowa, residents previously pleaded guilty to sex 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 to Virginia and forced her to have sex with men who answered online ads.

Prosecutors say Hodza and Sorensen burned the woman with lit cigarettes and other heated objects, drove nails into her feet and poured bleach into her wounds.

Defense attorneys and prosecutors are recommending prison terms of 35 years — 11 more than the top end of the sentencing guideline range.