KNOXVILLE - April 7, 2016 - Gang member convicted for Human Trafficking

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A gang member convicted for human trafficking in Knoxville has been sentenced to ten years in prison.

Roger Ernest McClain, Jr., a Gangster Disciple gang member, will also be placed on the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry, under the terms of the plea deal.

According to prosecutors, on September 19, 2015, Knoxville Police Department officers interviewed the victim of an aggravated robbery at the Budget Inn on Lovell Road. The victim told officers she had been "pimped out" by McClain for the past year.

Investigators determined that McClain organized a human trafficking ring online. He would post ads on the website three times a day and communicate with people hoping to have sex with the victim.

The victim told authorities that McClain would collect the money exchanged for sex, physically assaulted the victim if she refused to comply and injected her with heroin. She also said it wasn't unusual for her to have sex with individuals patronizing prostitution up to twenty-five times a day.

"Human trafficking victims are manipulated in so many ways that they feel they have no choice but to comply wiht the demands of their trafficker," said DA Charme Allen in a release