JBLM Sgt. Pleads Guilty To Pimping Teen Girls

A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier pleaded guilty Tuesday to setting up an apartment and posting Craigslist ads for juvenile prostitutes, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Sgt. Sterling Terrance Hospedales, 27, is charged with sex trafficking of a child and attempted sex trafficking of a child.

Hospedales pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal; both sides agreed they would ask for his sentence to be 10 to 15 years in prison, the attorney's office said.

The investigation began on April 13, 2009, when Lakewood police were alerted to a juvenile runaway from the Seattle area who was posting ads on Craigslist indicating she was a prostitute.

Investigators spoke with the teen girl who said that she worked as a prostitute out of an apartment that Hospedales rented and that he helped her post ads on Craigslist. She said the money she earned from prostituting went to Hospedales, the attorney's office said.

Another teen girl told investigators that Hospedales recruited her for prostitution purposes and paid for her plane ticket from Wyoming to Washington, the attorney's office said.

At the time of Hospedales’ arrest, the girl said she had taken pictures to post on Craigslist, but had not started making money yet. The teen told investigators that Hospedales threatened to kick her out of the apartment and have other girls beat her up if she didn't pay him back for the plane ticket by prostituting.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Hospedales is required to register as a sex offender when released from prison.

The U.S. Army is in the process of dishonorably discharging Hospedales from the military.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 25.

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