2 Duluth Men Convicted of Trafficking Teenage Girl for Sex

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) -- Two Duluth men have been convicted in federal court of trafficking a 15-year-old girl for sex.

A jury in Duluth found 44-year-old Amos Kiprop Koech guilty Tuesday of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking of a minor. Koech's alleged co-conspirator, 33-year-old Andre Mathis Jr., pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor four days before trial.

Authorities say Mathis took the girl to an apartment after she ran away from a residential treatment house in Duluth. Duluth police found the girl hiding in a closet 20 days after she went missing in 2017.

The U.S. Attorney's office for Minnesota and St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin's office prosecuted the cases under a collaborative agreement. The FBI and the Duluth Police Department combined to investigate.