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Man who took Charlotte teen to Miami, forced her into prostitution, sentenced

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte man will spend more than 19 years behind bars for taking a 17-year-old girl from Charlotte to Miami and forcing her into drugs and prostitution.

[Man accused of taking teen from Charlotte to Miami, forcing her into prostitution]

Willie Obadiah, 32, was sentenced to 235 months in prison Thursday for sex trafficking a minor earlier this year.

Court documents state that Obadiah met the girl on Facebook in February after she ran away from her foster home in Greensboro.

After talking on Facebook, he picked up the girl to go to Miami, where she thought they were going to hang out.

But instead, he took her to a hotel in Charlotte and advertised her prostitution services online. Obadiah drove her to South Florida and prostituted the minor out in hotels.

The girl got away from Obadiah, who returned to North Carolina where the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department arrested him on April 19.

A restitution hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 28, 2020.

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