BILLINGS – A Missoula man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison Wednesday for "pimping" underage girls all over Montana, including in Missoula, Polson and Billings.
Terrance Tyrell Edwards will also be under supervised release for the rest of his life following his release, according to the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Watters.
Williams was convicted in February three counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; three counts of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in prostitution; one count of obstruction of a sex trafficking investigation; one count of transportation of a person with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; one count of distribution of marijuana to person under 21 years of age; and one count of tampering with a witness, victim, or informant.
Edwards was arrested in Billings in September of 2016 after arriving in town with three minor girls from North Dakota. Prosecutors said he had recruited multiple women and girls — as many as five — after his release from prison on prostitution-related charges in 2016.
Shortly after he was released from prison on prostitution charges, Edwards began forcing his first female victim in this case to engage in commercial sex in Missoula, according to prosecutors. Edwards physically and emotionally abused her and threatened her life and the lives of her family members.
Shortly after this victim escaped, prosecutors say Edwards transported another victim from Missoula to Billings and forced her to work in commercial sex. Edwards sexually assaulted her and threatened her with violence if she ever spoke about what they had done in Billings.
Then in September of 2016, Edwards forced a third victim to engage in commercial sex in Missoula. Edwards transported this victim throughout the state of Montana and to Utah, where he forced her to walk the street for commercial sex customers.
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