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The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the state of South Carolina announced that a woman from Greenville, S.C. has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for sex trafficking a 15-year-old girl.
According to evidence obtained by federal investigators, 25-year-old True Heaven Heflin met the minor victim at a party over the Christmas break in 2022. After the party, she took the minor back to her residence and forced the girl to engage in sex acts for money.
The teen was held captive for over a week before she was able to escape.
“If you abuse and exploit children for money, we will find you, we will charge you, and we will ensure you go to prison,” acting U.S. attorney Brook B. Andrews said in a statement. “We, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, will continue to tirelessly investigate and prosecute these despicable acts until our children and communities are safe.”
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Heflin pleaded guilty to human trafficking conspiracy in November 2024, and was sentenced to 300 months imprisonment followed by a lifetime court-ordered supervision by U.S. district judge Bruce H. Hendricks. There is no parole in the federal system, meaning Heflin will serve every day of that sentence. Furthermore, Heflin was ordered to pay the victim $5,000 in restitution.
“The successful prosecution and sentencing of True Heflin exemplifies what can be accomplished when law enforcement agencies collaborate to tackle the horrific crime of human trafficking,” Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis said. “Human trafficking has been, and will continue to be, a top priority for the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. We will persist in defending and advocating for those who cannot defend themselves, ensuring that those responsible for such heinous acts are brought to justice.”
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) – with assistant U.S. attorney Carrie Fisher Sherard prosecuting the case.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Erin Parrott is a Greenville, S.C. native who graduated from J. L. Mann High School in 2021. She is currently a senior at the University of South Carolina majoring in broadcast journalism. Got feedback or a tip for Erin? Email her here.
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1 comment
True Heavan an interesting woman, she has a tattoo of a masked thug on the center of her neck (think IRA gunman from the 70s) and a $ under one eye and a bar code or some such silliness under the other. She was arrested in Horry County for possession of marijuana and an open container.