Kalna convicted of human trafficking of a relative

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A jury Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court took slightly more than 90 minutes to find a man guilty of charges he gave a female relative to a neighbor for sex in exchange for money for his drug habit.

David Kalna, 38, of Eleanor Avenue, was convicted of two counts of trafficking in persons and one count of compelling prostitution. Judge R. Scott Krichbaum will sentence him at 9 a.m. Friday.

Jurors heard closing arguments in the trial Tuesday afternoon and were then instructed on the law by Judge Krichbaum before returning at 9 a.m. Wednesday to begin deliberations.

As Kalna was waiting for an elevator to taking him to a holding area for prisoners in the courthouse, he could be heard yelling, “I can’t believe it!”

Read more about the case in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.