CINCINNATI — An Ohio man who was convicted of sex trafficking and exploiting two teenagers had his 40-year prison sentence affirmed by the Court of Appeals.
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On Tuesday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the 40-year prison sentence imposed on 44-year-old Kelly Richards of Cincinnati, who was convicted at trial of sex trafficking and exploiting two teenagers.
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After a six-day trial, Richards was found guilty on all five counts of sex trafficking minors, sexually exploiting children, and illegally possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon.
Richards was sentenced in October 2024 to spend 480 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release.
Richards drugged, raped, abused, photographed, and sold two teenage girls, according to a press release from the Southern District of Ohio U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He held the two teens in a one-bedroom apartment that the appeals court called “a house of horrors,” and provided them with cocaine before assaulting them and forcing them to have sex with other men.
On appeal, Richards challenged his convictions and argues that his sentence was substantively unreasonable.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions and sentence. The court noted his “horrific crimes against multiple victims” and failure to show “a scintilla of remorse for his actions.”
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