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Man sentenced to 174 years in prison for prostituting a runaway teen

Man sentenced to 174 years in prison for prostituting a runaway teen

Yahoo30-05-2025
The Brief
Leroy Ellis Jr., 32, was sentenced to 174 years in prison for forcing a runaway teen into prostitution, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said on May 29.
The teen was commended by county attorney Rachel Mitchell for testifying in the suspect's trial by jury.
MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - A 32-year-old man was sentenced to nearly two centuries in prison for forcing a runaway teen to work as a prostitute, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said.
What we know
Leroy Ellis Jr. was sentenced to 174 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of child sex trafficking and committing a dangerous crime against children.
"In 2022, the victim – who was 15 at the time - traveled from California to Arizona after meeting Ellis on Facebook. After she arrived in Phoenix, Ellis groomed her to start working for him as a prostitute right after her 16th birthday," the county attorney's office said on May 29. "The victim testified that over the next several months she gave everything she earned from sex to the defendant. On at least two occasions, she had sex so Ellis would have money to pay for his son's birthday party and buy presents."
MCAO says texts between the victim and Ellis show that he would approve her "dates" and the prices. The office also says she was "branded" with tattoos of Ellis' name and nickname in large letters.
Those tattoos were seen in photos he'd post online for "sex advertisements."
"This woman showed incredible bravery by testifying about how she was manipulated and victimized by the defendant," said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. "Thank you to the Phoenix Police detectives who rescued her from a life of prostitution, and to the prosecution team in my office for finding justice for this woman who has been so horribly abused."
What you can do
Click here to learn more about resources in Arizona for trafficking victims.
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31 Awkward Moments That Prove You're Getting Old
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31 Awkward Moments That Prove You're Getting Old

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Disruptive ‘scam' or legitimate protest? Here's why Pierre Poilievre's byelection ballot will have dozens of candidates
Disruptive ‘scam' or legitimate protest? Here's why Pierre Poilievre's byelection ballot will have dozens of candidates

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time2 hours ago

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Disruptive ‘scam' or legitimate protest? Here's why Pierre Poilievre's byelection ballot will have dozens of candidates

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'I get emails, I get Facebook messages saying, 'Why is a person from Ontario running in an Alberta riding?' And this is exactly why I do want to see a residency requirement. I don't think somebody from Ontario should be able to run in Alberta,' said Dillon Anderson, the 22-year-old university student from Callander, Ont. 'I'm hoping that this is the last time we'll do the longest ballot and that we get some changes, some actual meaningful changes, that don't restrict Canadians' rights to run, but gives us more of a local-focused approach,' said Anderson, who is one of several protest candidates who believe other rules, like residency requirements, ought to be changed. For Nicola Zoghbi, the Montreal teacher, the initiative is 'one of the most efficient ways' to point out flaws in Canada's electoral system, which he says include its use of the first-past-the-post system, where the candidate with the most votes wins — even if most voters actually voted for other contenders. What's unique about this byelection, said Zoghbi, whose campaign platform is almost entirely about dinosaurs , is how Poilievre is able to take advantage of some rules while trying to ban others. 'There's this loophole that Poilievre and other politicians are using, so regular people like me could use it, too,' he said of the residency requirement, which politicians have historically used to run in ridings far away from where they actually live. Jason Buzzell, the Nebraska IT expert, joined the movement in part because of his personal ties to the riding. Buzzell was raised in Battle River—Crowfoot, and started his family there before work took him across the border. He wonders if a proportional voting system would have seen Poilievre re-elected in Carleton last spring. 'If we had had electoral reform … we wouldn't even have to do this byelection,' Buzzell suggested. The question election experts are now wrestling with is whether the whole scheme is fair game, or whether the integrity of races is being compromised. There are indications that the latter has not occurred, said Dennis Pilon, a professor and chair of the politics department at York University. One is a lack of reports that electors have felt too confused by affected ballots to vote properly. Another is no indication that the number of spoiled ballots has unduly increased. A third is that voters ultimately still have the agency to choose the candidate who they want to represent them. But if the strategy isn't harming voters, could it harm candidates from established parties? 'Maybe it ends up denying one of the candidates the win. That's the whole point of the protest,' said Pilon. So far, all ridings targeted by the movement have been won by a Liberal, Conservative or Bloc Québécois candidate. 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Kids rescued from hot car as their father was inside a Phoenix adult store, investigators say
Kids rescued from hot car as their father was inside a Phoenix adult store, investigators say

Yahoo

time9 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Kids rescued from hot car as their father was inside a Phoenix adult store, investigators say

The Brief Four kids were inside a car in a Phoenix parking lot, and police say the car was turned off amid triple-digit temps on July 24. Police arrived and were able to rescue them from the heat before taking them to the hospital. Their father, Ascencio Largo, 38, was booked into jail and is accused of several child abuse charges. PHOENIX - Four kids were rescued from a parked car in Phoenix on Thursday afternoon while investigators say their father was inside an adult store. What we know Police say it happened on July 24 near 24th and Madison streets at around 3:40 p.m. "Officers responded to a parking lot of a business near 24th Street and Madison Street regarding multiple children inside of a vehicle that was not running. When officers arrived, they located multiple children in the car. Officers were able to gain entry into the car and secure the children," Phoenix Police said. Police say the car was off, and the windows were rolled up. The four young kids, ages 2, 3, 4 and 7, were put into an air-conditioned police SUV and were given water. "The call that all officers hate to get; multiple children left in a car unattended, cars not on, doors locked," said Phoenix Police Sgt. Rob Scherer. "They got all the kids out immediately, gave them water. There were signs of distress, you know, color discoloration, you know, skin bright red, sweating. Clearly, the heat was affecting the children." After making sure the children were safe and headed to the hospital, officers began looking for the car's owner. "Officers did follow up attempting to locate the owner of the car and responsible party to the children. While doing so they contacted the father of the children, identified as 38-year-old Ascencio Largo, inside of a nearby business. It was later learned that Largo entered this business just short of an hour prior to police arrival on scene," Phoenix Police said. Court documents allege Largo was inside an adult store called The Adult Shoppe. What they're saying "The facts of the scenario, as alleged by the police, are rather shocking," said Maricopa County Commissioner Jane McLaughlin during Largo's court appearance. "The police allege that they went into the store, called out many times. Nobody came out. And they allege that when you came out, you attempted to pretend like it wasn't your car. It just indicates a strong level of reckless culpability of knowing. It's difficult to say that anybody who grew up in Arizona doesn't know that children and dogs die in closed cars." According to court documents, police noted a smell of alcohol on Largo. His license also had an ignition interlock restriction, but his car did not have the device. Largo is accused of four counts of child abuse and four counts of endangerment. "You are presumed innocent. But what the police are alleging could have resulted in, you know, the kind of story that gets picked up on international newswires. 'Man goes into porno store leaving his four children to die in their car,'" McLaughlin said. By the numbers At around the time the kids were rescued from the car, it was about 104 degrees in Phoenix, the National Weather Service's website states. Police say the inside of the car was around 125 degrees. "The internal temperature of the children was taken, and each was near 100 degrees Fahrenheit," police said. What's next "The Department of Child Safety was contacted and is conducting a separate investigation. Additional details about this incident remain part of the ongoing investigation," Phoenix Police said. Map of the area where the kids were rescued Solve the daily Crossword

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