WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Florida judge sentenced a 42-year-old convicted sex trafficker to five life prison sentences, adding that some of his victims spent “years living in terror.”
During a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Alston Williams disputed his victims’ claims that he beat them, stuck needles under their fingernails and threatened to kill their families. He told Judge Robin Rosenberg the women sold their bodies for sex because they liked to shop and loved having money.
The Palm Beach Post reports Williams also claimed overzealous FBI agents and prosecutors “poisoned” people to testify against him.
Williams’ lawyer Fletcher Peacock said the life sentences recommended by prosecutors were excessive.
One victim was in court Wednesday. She said she was in high school when she met Williams, adding that he abused her for seven years.
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