EVERETT — An Everett pimp with a violent history must serve 21 years behind bars for sex trafficking, a King County judge ruled this week.
Bernard Gordon, 33, profited off illicit sex workers in the Seattle area, according to records filed in King County Superior Court in Seattle.
After a trial that lasted five weeks, a jury found Gordon guilty in April of human trafficking, promoting prostitution and leading organized crime, the Daily Herald reported.
Gordon was arrested in 2019 on Evergreen Way in Everett when he tried to “set up an appointment” with an undercover detective posing as a prostitute, according to prosecutors.
He then got into a Cadillac with two women inside and officers pulled over the car. The driver told police that Gordon was her pimp and that he often became violent to keep her working, prosecutors said.
Gordon was booked into Snohomish County Jail for investigation of promoting prostitution. His case was later transferred to King County related to alleged crimes there, prosecutors said.
Deputy prosecutor Benjamin Gauen described Gordon’s history of violence against women in a sentencing memorandum, saying he targeted vulnerable young women to prostitute for him.
“But there was always a steep cost, Gauen wrote. ”The victims had to make him money by selling their bodies along Aurora Avenue North.”
Defense attorney J.T. Hicks asked King County Superior Court Judge Sandra Widlan for a lesser sentence, arguing the women were “street wise” and had no fear of standing up to Gordon. Hicks also argued there wasn’t enough evidence to prove Gordon led organized crime.
