A Pinellas County man was found guilty Thursday of running a sex trafficking ring in Pinellas County.
Peter Kitt, 42, was convicted of racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. He will be sentenced on Dec. 12 and could face up to 60 years in prison.
Investigators said Kitt and his accomplice, Shawn Franklin, forced more than a dozen of women into prostitution. The men are accused of drugging the women and feeding their addictions, beating them and raping them.
The men were arrested in May 2013, a year after officials began investigating the sex trafficking ring. Officials said the prostitution ring spanned both sides of Tampa Bay.
At the time of Kitt's arrest, Attorney General Pam Bondi called the investigation the first of its kind in Florida, marking the first time local and state agencies had made an arrest in a human trafficking case in Florida that involves racketeering.
“I am dedicated to making Florida a zero-tolerance state for human trafficking, and I commend my Office of Statewide Prosecution for successfully prosecuting this man for his role in a sex trafficking ring,” Bondi said in a statement released Thursday.