Record-setting prison term for sex trafficker handed down in Ramsey County

The longest prison term in Minnesota history for sex trafficking was handed down Friday in Ramsey County District Court to a man convicted of victimizing seven women.

Judge Joy Bartscher sentenced Rashad R. Ivy, 35, of St. Paul, to a little more than 58 years in prison on four counts of sex trafficking, three counts of soliciting prostitution and one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

"Today, their criminal enterprise officially came to an end with this landmark sentence because of this community's resolve to end sex trafficking by properly identifying and helping victims while holding traffickers accountable to the fullest extent of the law," Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a statement.

Jurors convicted Ivy at trial in February, and also found that he was the mastermind behind the crimes.

The previous record for a sex-trafficking sentence was 40 years handed down in 2014 to Otis Washington.

According to the charges filed against Ivy and his conspirators, Tarris L. Trapps and Danika S. Johnson: They recruited women in St. Paul by luring them with talk of music videos, and by promising money, new cars and "living the dream."

When the women went to the suspects' apartment, coercion and physical violence were used to force them into prostitution. Two women were sexually assaulted by Ivy and Trapps at the apartment.

They were exposed when Ivy beat one of his victims so badly that she required care at a hospital, where she reported the beating.

"The defendant in this case presented a very real threat to both his victims and the public at large," interim Police Chief Kathy Wuorinen said in a written statement.

Trapps pleaded guilty in January and was sentenced to about seven years in prison.

Johnson pleaded guilty in November and was sentenced to a year in the workhouse.

If Ivy is ever released from prison, he'll have to register as a predatory offender for life.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708

Twitter: @ChaoStrib