Ex-inmate pleads guilty to sex-trafficking charge in Pa.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man faces 10 more years behind bars after pleading guilty to forcing two teens into prostitution with the help of his girlfriend, who was a guard at the western Pennsylvania prison where he served time for drug charges.

Rasul Abernathy, 33, who last lived in Coatesville, in eastern Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty Thursday to sex-trafficking charges involving a 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy. The charges carried a potential sentence of 10 years to life in prison, but under a plea agreement, Abernathy will receive the shortest term possible at sentencing set for Jan. 8.

The former guard and Abernathy’s girlfriend, Poshauntaramin Walker, 34, remains in federal custody. She has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. Her federal public defender has declined to comment.

Details of the sex-trafficking charges are spelled out in an FBI search warrant unsealed in February, a few days after the couple was arrested near Philadelphia.