(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)

(CNSNews.com) - A federal judge in Baltimore, Md., has sentenced 29-year-old former Washington, D.C. police officer Chukwuemeka Ekwonna to fourteen years in federal prison for “two counts of sex trafficking of a minor,” the U.S. Justice Department reported today.

“Specifically, between October 2016 and February 2017, Ekwonna, who was an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in Washington, D.C. at the time, engaged in sexual conduct with two girls, who were 14 and 15 years old, in exchange for money,” said a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. “Both victims were students in the ninth grade at the time of the offenses.”

“Between December 19, 2016, and April 5, 2017, Ekwonna exchanged approximately 200 messages, both text and through the social media dating platform, with a 14-year-old girl (“Girl 1”),” said the DOJ release.

“On several occasions, Ekwonna offered to pay Girl 1 to engage in sex acts with him,” th release said. “Ekwonna met with Girl 1 and engaged in sex acts with her on at least five occasions, between October 18, 2016, and February 15, 2017. Ekwonna engaged in illegal sex with the underage girl in different locations in the Annapolis area, including in motel rooms and Ekwonna’s vehicle. Ekwonna typically paid Girl 1 between $30 and $40 to have sex with him. Messages between Ekwonna and the 14-year-old girl suggest that she was aware that Ekwonna was a police officer.”

“On January 9, 2017, Ekwonna exchanged approximately 54 messages through the dating platform with a second underage girl, who was 15 years old at the time (“Girl 2”),” said the Department of Justice release.

“In these messages, Ekwonna offered to pay the 15-year-old girl to engage in sex acts with him,” it said. “Ekwonna met Girl 2 in Glen Burnie, where he gave her $80 and engaged in sex acts with her in the back of his car. According to Girl 2’s testimony at the sentencing hearing, after they had sex, Ekwonna locked her in the car, pointed a black handgun at her and demanded she return the money he had paid her. As part of his sentence, Ekwonna was ordered to pay $80 in restitution to the victim. His car and his black police-issued handgun were ordered forfeited to the government.”

Here is the full text of the Justice Department press release: