PHOENIX (AP) - A Phoenix-area man accused of providing underage girls with heroin in exchange for sex has been sentenced to 20 1/2 years in prison.
Maricopa County Superior Court officials say Ernest Longhini III of Anthem was sentenced Tuesday for child sex trafficking and involvement of minors in a drug offense.
He pleaded guilty in February to child sex trafficking, sexual abuse and other crimes.
County Sheriff's officials began an investigation in 2016 after receiving a tip about a man trading methamphetamine and heroin for sexual favors.
They say the 33-year-old Longhini admitted to detectives that he had injected heroin into a total of three different under-aged girls on multiple occasions in exchange for sex.
