In Arapahoe County, a jury found a 34-year-old man guilty of human trafficking charges following a traffic stop in 2020 that revealed two runaway teenagers in his vehicle.
The man, Kenneth T. Noel, who hails from Texas, was convicted of various offenses, including attempting to traffic a minor, trafficking an adult, pimping, and sexual assault on a child, according to a press release from the 18th Judicial District issued on Wednesday.
Noel was taken into custody on June 10, 2020, in Arapahoe County after a Colorado State Patrol Trooper stopped his black BMW SUV while conducting traffic checks on Interstate 70.
The two teenagers, who believed they were headed to Las Vegas to work as strippers, were rescued and reunited with their guardians, according to the news release.
“It’s hard to fathom the danger they could have faced if that trooper hadn’t intervened and stopped that SUV. The adult victim showed tremendous strength coming back to Colorado to tell her story and make sure her trafficker was held accountable,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Jacob Kremin in the news release.
A search of Noel’s car and phone revealed evidence of pimping, prostitution, and sex trafficking. Investigators also found multiple commercial sex advertisements that were tied to Noel, some of which appeared in Denver.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 23, 2025.
Colorado has a hotline for reporting human trafficking: 1-866-455-5075 or text “HELP” to 720-999-9724.
