Former Minnesota GOP donor and political operative Anton Lazzaro has been sentenced after being convicted of sex trafficking minors.
In federal court on Wednesday, Lazzaro, 32, was sentenced to 21 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Earlier this year, Lazzaro was found guilty of recruiting teenage girls and offering cash and gifts in exchange for sex. During a 10-day trial, the one-time Republican strategist admitted to having sexbut claims he thought they were older. All five victims testified against Lazzaro, but he has maintained he never paid them.
In the pre-sentence report, his defense says the sex was consensual, and they object to the assertion "anybody was a victim in this case." Lazzaro has said he believes he was selectively prosecuted because of his political activities. His defense asked that Lazzaro only serve the mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison, saying that's more than enough for a first-time offender. However,
followed by 10 years of post-release supervision, as well as restitution for the victims, and a payment of $30,000 to the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund. , saying he paid more than $50,000 to recruit teenage girls for sex. The 21-year-old pleaded guilty and began cooperating with prosecutors. She's scheduled to be sentenced next month.
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