A black man faces federal sex-trafficking charges after authorities say that he forced a teenage girl into prostitution

Benson December Coriolant, 29, has been arrested by federal agents in the Tampa area, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He faces a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted, as well as a $250,000 fine, and the possibility of lifetime supervision if he were ever released. Coriolant is charged with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking of children, coercion and enticement of an individual to engage in prostitution, and coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. According to the indictment against him, Coriolant recruited the teen to work as a prostitute beginning in 2009 in the Orlando area, giving her alcohol and drugs and taking the money she earned. The girl was about 14 years old at the time, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Coriolant then arranged for the girl to work in the New Orleans area, using a classified-advertising website to advertise and find clients, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. After working as a prostitute out of a hotel in Kenner, La., the girl was arrested and returned to live with relatives in Orlando. Coriolant later sent the girl back to Louisiana and prostitution, according to the indictment. The FBI is investigating the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide effort to combat child-sex trafficking that was launched in 2006, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Records show that Coriolant has a history of arrests in several Florida counties on drug and other charges.