The High Court in Johannesburg has sentenced one Eke Ogochukwu to 20 years in prison for trafficking a 15-year-old girl and forcing her into prostitution.

According to EWN, Ogochukwu was found guilty of four charges relating to human trafficking.

The teenager had escaped from him in August 2015 and received help from a nearby church in Rosettenville. The matter was the reported to the police and Ogochukwu was arrested.

During the hearing, judge Majake Mabesele said what the accused did was cruel, degrading and inhuman, adding that Ogochukwu took advantage of the teenager as she was homeless after running away from her Vereeniging home in 2015 following a fight with her mother.

Mabesele said, “Clearly what happened to her was cruel, inhuman and degrading and was a violation of the right to human dignity, which is enshrined in our Constitution.”

The court heard that he would drug her, force her to perform sexual acts with other men and take the money she made through prostitution.

The young girl was given R50 a day for food and a further R100 for every man she was forced to sleep with.

“The perpetrators of these offences deserve severe punishment in order to protect and promote a bright future for our young generation.”

After the minor escaped officials alerted the police and Ogochukwu was arrested.