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Delco man sentenced under Pa. human-trafficking law

An Upper Darby man charged last year with having sexual relations with minors has become the first person convicted under a state law aimed at fighting human trafficking, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office announced Friday.

An Upper Darby man charged last year with having sexual relations with minors has become the first person convicted under a state law aimed at fighting human trafficking, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office announced Friday.

After entering pleas, Renell Quire, 21, was sentenced this week to three to six years in jail for having sex with two girls, ages 15 and 16, whom he met online. Quire was arrested Sept. 5, just days after the law took effect that strengthened the state's ability to charge alleged traffickers with more serious crimes. Previously, Pennsylvania law did not include sexual servitude.

According to the District Attorney's Office, Quire met the 15-year-old victim on a dating website and continued to communicate through text messages and phone calls. Just days before his arrest, Quire and a friend drove to the New Life Youth Center in Salford Township, Montgomery County, and picked up the girl and her 16-year-old friend. He then took them to Quire's mother's home in Upper Darby, where both men had sex with each girl.

In addition to the jail term, Quire was also ordered to serve five years of consecutive probation and to register as a sex offender for 25 years under Megan's law, among other stipulations. - Caitlin McCabe