HATED, INDEED

The Self-Described ‘Most Hated Hoe in LA’ Gets 15 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking

Using the online moniker ‘Pretty Hoe,’ Melanie Denae Williams, 23, solicited minors to engage in commercial sex acts, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

A Los Angeles woman who describes herself as “the most hated hoe in L.A.” was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in federal prison after she admitted to using social media to force young women—some minors—into sex trafficking, authorities said.

Melanie Denae Williams, 23, used the moniker “Pretty Hoe” on various social media sites to abuse the women she recruited online to work as prostitutes, the U.S. attorney’s office said in documents released Friday.

In November, Williams pleaded guilty to sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion—offenses that carry a total minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. United States District Judge George H. Wu also ordered her to pay restitution to her victims.

“Williams ordered the victim to strip off her clothes, then Williams threw bleach on her and used a broomstick to beat her,” the U.S. attorney’s office said in a press release, adding that she “continually threatened to kill the victim if she left.”

The 23-year-old also forced the unidentified woman to tattoo Williams’ name on her face before confiscating the woman’s belongings and identifying documents, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

In her plea agreement, Williams admitted to using the internet to recruit two minors for “commercial sex acts” before keeping the proceeds for her own benefit, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

“Williams also posted social media videos of her physically beating and using firearms to threaten young women,” the affidavit states.