Undercover sting nabs Tacoma man on attempted sex trafficking and enticement charges

A man living in a Tacoma federal half-way house has been indicted by a grand jury for attempted sex trafficking of a juvenile and attempted enticement of a minor, according to an Aug. 13 news release from the Department of Justice.

Prentice Hollingsworth, 45, began living in half-way house in December 2019 following his release from federal prison. Because of prior sex offenses, Hollingsworth is on lifetime federal supervised release, according to the news release.

Less than a month after moving to Tacoma, Hollingsworth began communication with an undercover member of the Seattle Police Department who was posing as a 15-year-old girl, the release states. He contacted the officer through a web application and engaged in extensive discussions with her about prostitution, according to the release.

Those discussions included how much he, as a pimp, would charge the undercover officer and how much she should charge for her services. The news release also says Hollingsworth encouraged the undercover officer to leave school to focus on prostitution and said she could earn more money as a juvenile sex worker.

After telling the undercover officer to check into a hotel in Fife, Hollingsworth was arrested at the Tacoma half-way house in January 2020, according to the press release.

The press release states that the two counts, attempted sex trafficking of a juvenile and attempted enticement of a minor, each have a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years up to life in prison.

Hollingsworth’s arraignment is set for Aug. 20.

This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 1:43 PM.