Anton “Tony” Lazzaro was a wealthy political donor found guilty of seven counts of sex trafficking with five minors between the ages of 15 and 16. Lazarro had paid a female friend to recruit underage girls for him to party and have sex with. In return he showered the girls with money and gifts. The government said that since he was paying money for underage sex, it qualifies as sex trafficking. The defense argued that it was not sex trafficking because the sex was consensual and the money and gifts were not connected to the sex.
View my sketches of the trial here.
A jury found Lazarro guilty on all counts. He was sentenced in Minneapolis on August 9 2023 to 21 years in prison.
