A Denver man who abused and victimized women and girls in a human trafficking ring on Thursday received what’s likely the longest Colorado prison sentence for those crimes. 

Second Judicial District Judge Kandace Gerdes sentenced 44-year-old Robert Hawkins to 448 consecutive years in prison on 18 criminal convictions, including three counts of human trafficking. 

Prosecutors said the 448 years likely breaks a record for the longest sentence regarding human trafficking charges in the country’s history. 

The second-highest sentence also took place in Colorado, with Brock Franklin receiving 472 for human trafficking in 2017 in Arapahoe County. But the sentence was dropped to 401 after adjustments, Chief Deputy District Attorney Lara Mullin said following Thursday’s sentencing hearing in a packed courtroom.

Hawkins was arrested on Sept. 26, 2021 after three years of investigation by the Denver Police Department’s Human Trafficking Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

After a victim came forward and reported Hawkins pimping and assaults, investigators found seven victims to testify against the man — five women, one girl and one man. One of the five women was a juvenile during the time of the trafficking as well.

“Robert Hawkins’ life work has been exploiting and hurting the most vulnerable people in our community,” Mullin, the lead prosecutor on the case, said during the sentencing hearing. “He has thrived off of the hard work and suffering of those who were homeless, addicted, single mothers and runaways.”

For example, victim Gail Ross wrote in a statement to Gerdes that she was trying to get back home to California when she met Hawkins. Hawkins then told her she had nothing left to do but work for him, took her and forced her to prostitute for 12 hours a day. 

“People probably ask why I didn’t just run away,” Ross said in the letter. “It was made very clear to me by his associates and those he associated with that he isn’t one to mess with.”

All victims noted physical abuse during the hearing.

The defense was offered a 40-year sentence as part of a plea deal, something Mullin called a “gift.” Hawkins ultimately denied the deal and took the three cases to trial.

Following a 15-day trial that ended on March 26, Hawkins was convicted on 18 charges including three counts of human trafficking sexual servitude of an adult, one count of human trafficking sexual servitude of a minor, four counts of pimping of an adult, one count of pimping of a child, one count of sexual assault on a child and two counts of assault in the first degree.

The charges stemmed back to various incidents between 2018 and 2021, though prosecutors pointed toward a pre-sentencing investigation report that said Hawkins was arrested, cited or detained for 57 offenses in more than 20 dismissed cases between 1997 and 2003. They also noted that he was placed on probation in 2012 when charged with pimping a child. The 16-year-old in the case was too afraid to speak, leading to his probation.

In the current case, the victims were not afraid to speak out against the man. 

Multiple people, including the victims and parents, spoke during the sentencing hearing.

“I may not have had a perfect childhood, but the worst time of it would always be what he did to me,” a victim under the alias SP said. SP was 13 at the time that she was abused and trafficked by Hawkins. She’s now 17.

“Maybe 500 years will make the lightbulb go off in his head that he is, in fact, not in the right. Not in charge. Not allowed to treat other humans as he does,” she said. 

The defense asked for the 40-year sentence that was initially offered in the plea deal, noting that being charged with human trafficking instead of pimping causes prejudice despite similar charges. 

Hawkins did not speak during the sentencing, so as to not affect his eventual appeal. He, instead, sat in emotionless silence. 

While Hawkins did have family or friends in the courtroom, they didn’t speak during the hearing, either.

“The defense asks for a minimum sentence? I would like one, too,” Willessa Stanton, one of the victims, said — noting the lifelong battle she will have to fight after being used in human trafficking. 

“I came forward not because I wanted to be vengeful or angry, but because there were juveniles who needed to have a voice for them. No man should have the right to force himself on a child,” Stanton said. “For the rest of their lives, they’re going to have to fight this, too.”

While Hawkins was officially sentenced to 448 years overall, he was actually sentenced to more than 700 years. But the judge ordered some sentences be served concurrently, not consecutively. 

Hawkins will also be designated as a sexual predator and habitual criminal.

“Robert Hawkins, like most human traffickers, showed no regard for anyone but himself, took advantage of six extremely vulnerable victims, and now he will pay a significant price for his crimes,” Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said after the sentencing.