Arkansas man accused of human trafficking sentenced to life behind bars

Little Rock, Arkansas – DeMarcus George, 28, was sentenced to life behind bars on Tuesday for an incident that happened in 2018, the Eastern District of Arkansas Office of the United States Attorney confirmed.

The incident, which has been closely monitored by the MDMH – Pine Bluff team ever since, happened in early 2018, but was brought to light later that year after a 6-year-old girl was hospitalized at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital with several symptoms in February of the same year. Doctors at the hospital found that the girl’s symptoms were caused by sexually transmitted diseases.

That prompted the FBI to start an immediate investigation into the case.

The little girl, who was questioned by FBI investigators shortly after being admitted to the hospital, explained that she was raped in a motel room by two men earlier that year. After conducting an initial investigation, the FBI managed to identify the motel in which the incident took place and discovered that the room was actually rented by the girl’s mother.

The investigators in charge of this case later confirmed that the girl had been removed from the mother’s custody.

FBI investigators and local law enforcement agencies identified the suspects as DeMarcus George and Mario Waters, now 34 years old. In the weeks to come, both of the suspects were tested and found to have the sexually transmitted disease that had infected the girl. The indictment came in 2019 and both suspects pleaded guilty in November of last year. Additionally, DeMarcus and Water admitted they had trafficked other people too.

On Tuesday, a federal court sentenced DeMarcus George to life in prison for conspiracy to commit human trafficking of a minor. Waters’ sentencing is yet to take place.