WCDA Sentencing Result

District Attorney Chris Hicks announces that child sex trafficker sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison.

Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks has announced that a Reno man found guilty on child sex trafficking charges has been sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison. Kevin Belcher, age 28, from Reno was found guilty on three counts of Sex Trafficking of a Child Under 16 Years of Age last Thursday after being convicted in the second in-person trial to take place in Washoe County since Covid-19 restrictions were put in place. Based on Washoe County District Court Judge Kathleen Drakulich’s sentence, Belcher must serve a minimum of 30 years in prison before parole eligibility begins.

This case began on May 28, 2019 when the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force (CETF) began an investigation into suspected sex trafficking activities in the Reno area. The investigation implicated Belcher as the primary suspect and developed evidence of the trafficking of multiple minor females. CETF Investigators located explicit advertisements meant to market the victims for prostitution and additional evidence of Belcher having engaged in sex with underage victims. Belcher was arrested and this office filed formal criminal charges against him. The Regional Human Exploitation and Trafficking Team (HEAT)also assisted in this case and, along with the FBI, worked closely with this office during the prosecution phase.          

At sentencing, Deputy District Attorney (DDA) Tyson League argued that the victims showed incredible strength during the entire length of the case and can now have some amount of closure to aid in their healing process. DDA League noted that the sentence needed to reflect the severity of the harm done to these three young girls and, this being the maximum sentence possible, this does just that.