PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN 6) – A registered sex offender, who has multiple convictions for promoting and compelling prostitution, was sentenced to life in prison for his latest offense — putting a 15-year-old girl to work as a stripper.
Anthony Curry, 50, is described by police and prosecutors as a pimp and human trafficker. He was arrested by Beaverton police in September 2014, then convicted in June 2015 of 7counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct.
Police say he was pimping out a 15-year-old girl.
Beaverton Police Detective Chad Opitz said the case against Curry was anything but traditional. Stars Cabaret first contacted Opitz and told him that they believed one of their dancers was possibly a missing runaway.
Opitz confirmed the girl had been reported as missing and that she was a minor. Detectives learned the girl had been forced to perform at the Dolphin II strip club and the Sunset Strips, both in Beaverton.
Detectives rescued the girl and learned Curry had a past of sex trafficking.
In April 1994 records show Curry was convicted in Washington State for first-degree promoting prostitution. Five months later, Curry was convicted in Multnomah County for 2 counts of promoting and compelling prostitution and one count of third-degree rape. In January 1995, he was convicted of compelling and promoting prostitution out of Washington County.
“He’s had more than enough opportunity to change and to stay on a more productive and a more positive road,” Opitz said. “But he continued to exploit and take advantage of these young girls.”
Police say Curry and other traffickers will target their victims in malls, bus stops and even in schools. The pimps will work to befriend the victim and then manipulate them into thinking they will make a lot of cash and they’re being watched out for.
“They look for the vulnerable girl,” Opitz said. “They set that hook a little bit and if that girl is receptive in any way, then that hook gets set deeper.”
Sex trafficking isn’t just a Portland problem, according to police. Opitz said there is a steady flow of men in the suburbs who are willing to pay for sex with juveniles. The traffickers, police say, are using websites to advertise their victims.
“We’re just sending the message that we’re going to continue to fight sex trafficking,” Opitz says. He works closely with a federal task force aimed at reducing human trafficking.
Curry asked for a 70-month sentence and asked the judge for mercy. Because of his prior conviction, a Washington County judge sentenced Curry to life in prison.
Opitz said the sentence is symbolic of the tough stance law enforcement and the judicial system has for repeat offenders.
On Wednesday, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries announced it will investigate Stars Cabaret in Beaverton on allegations of sexual harassment of minors. BOLI spokesperson Charlie Burr says an agency investigation will determine whether the company subjected vulnerable minors to conditions of employment that constituted sexual harassment under Oregon law.