The parents accused of offering their teenage daughters to strangers in exchange of money and other items have pleaded guilty in the case.
Anthony and Kathy Hart pleaded guilty to second degree unlawful transaction with a minor. They were originally charged with human trafficking for allegedly approaching men in stores asking them if they’d like to spend time with their daughters.
Four of the five charges were dismissed with their plea.
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Berea Police say the Harts would exchange their 13- and 14-year-old daughters for clothes, money, and food. The couple was arrested in 2011 and pleaded not guilty in Dec. 2012.
Police say the investigation started back in December 2010 when a teacher spotted two provocatively dressed girls outside of a Richmond movie theater, apparently being pimped out. She told police a man asked the girls’ father, “how much he wanted for both of them.”
The girls allegedly told detectives they would receives gifts, clothes and money in exchange for letting the men touch and kiss them.
Police arrested the Harts back in 2002 when they tried to sell a 3-month-old for about $3,000 at a Danville Walmart. The potential buyer was an undercover officer. Anthony Hart spent two years in prison for that crime. Kathy Hart never faced trial.
Their sentencing is scheduled for July 10.
