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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Man, 25, gets term for putting girl in prostitution

Associated Press

SEATTLE — A man who forced a 12-year-old girl into prostitution has been sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Twenty-five-year-old Steven L. Leonard was sentenced Friday in King County Superior Court.

He was convicted last month of child rape and promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor.

The Seattle Times reports Leonard met the seventh-grader in January on a Seattle sidewalk and talked her into running away from home. The Times says Leonard’s criminal record includes convictions for theft, possession of stolen property and animal cruelty.