Duane Mason, one of three people arrested in connection with the sex trafficking of a minor at a Toys “R” Us parking lot in Gaithersburg, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow handed down the sentence at a hearing in Greenbelt on Monday.

Mason, 36, of Frederick, pleaded guilty Dec. 30 to prostituting a 15-year-old girl from the Toys “R” Us parking lot at 600 N. Frederick Ave. in Gaithersburg in April 2010.

The girl’s family had reported her missing four days earlier.

According to Mason’s plea agreement, James Davis, whom Mason knew through his drug dealings, recruited the girl to work for Mason as a prostitute. The men took sexually suggestive photographs of the girl with a prostitute who worked for Mason and posted the photographs in the “escort” section of Backpage.com, using Mason’s account.

On April 26, 2010, an undercover officer with Montgomery County Police contacted one of two numbers in the ad and arranged a "date" with the girl.

The officer was told to wait in the Toys "R" Us parking lot, where the girl met the officer, accepted a $200 payment and directed him to a nearby Motel 6.

Police arrested Mason, Davis and Mera Fraley in the hotel parking lot.

Davis pleaded guilty to distributing narcotics to a minor and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 19.

Mason’s prison sentence is to be followed by 10 years parole, according to court records. His attorney, Baltimore-based Thomas J. Saunders, could not be reached Tuesday.

Federal charges were dropped against Fraley, 20, of Rocky Ridge, after she pleaded guilty in Montgomery County for her involvement. Fraley pleaded guilty June 27 to human trafficking and was sentenced to three years in prison and three years of supervised probation by Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Ronald B. Rubin. Rubin suspended all but 344 days in prison, the time Fraley had already served.

dgaines@gazette.net