Former wrestler to serve life for sex trafficking
Harrison 'Hardbody' Norris enforced strict set of rules on women.
By BRIAN FEAGANS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/01/08
Former pro-wrestler Harrison "Hardbody" Norris Jr. was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison, one of the harshest punishments ever handed down in a U.S. human trafficking case.
A jury convicted Norris, 42, on 24 counts in November, including forced labor, sex trafficking, peonage, aggravated sexual assault, witness tampering and obstruction. Norris targeted women who were homeless, addicted to drugs or in trouble with the law, luring them into his two Cartersville homes with the promise of a pro wrestling career. Instead, prosecutors say, he whipped them into shape for commercial sex.
U.S. District Judge Jack Camp said that although Norris' victims "weren't tied, chained or kept in the basement," he controlled them through psychological means. "Quite frankly," Camp said, "you seem to have a better understanding of psychology than most psychologists I've known."
Underpinning his sex slave ring was a mishmash of rules the women had to memorize. A closer look at his own laws — "Hardbody's 10 Commandments" — reveals how Norris broke those of the United States.
COMMANDMENT 1: Safety is always first. Egos are like eggs. They are going to get broken. Leave your problems in the streets. No Disrespecting.
Safety in Norris' case included condoms. He carried hundreds of them into trailer parks, nightclubs and homes where women were forced to have sex with paying customers. Disrespecting Norris came at a price. The victims testified that while he sometimes used physical force — from head butts to ordered beatings — Norris mainly controlled the women with mind games.
COMMANDMENT 2: Promptness.
A former staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, Norris ran the homes with military precision. The women had to wake at a certain time, perform a list of chores posted on the refrigerator and adhere to a strict diet. He slept in the "General's Quarters."
COMMANDMENT 3: Come together, leave together.
The victims testified that they were never allowed to be alone. One bathroom had a sign-in, sign-out sheet. And Norris would drive the women around in his black GMC Denali, license plate: "HARDBDY."
COMMANDMENT 4: Personal hygiene.
Women who didn't wear makeup, keep their nails manicured or do their hair faced fines. Norris developed a list of rules for the women to follow at clubs, including "use your hands when talking," "always make positive eye contact," and "keep boring talk to a bare minimum."
COMMANDMENT 5: Money.
Part of Norris' defense was that he already had plenty of it from a discrimination lawsuit against Atlanta-based World Championship Wrestling in 2000. Norris, who is black, settled out of court for a sum his family says was upward of $1 million. The women were told they could launch successful wrestling careers from the gym Norris built out back in Cartersville. But the women say they never earned a dime. For wrestling, that is.
COMMANDMENT 6: Know your job.
In some cases, the women's "job" was having sex with multiple men and women at the same time. The orgies were called "cut parties," and several victims testified that they were forced to participate. Witnesses described how Norris head-butted one woman and threatened to throw her out the window if she didn't' have sex with two customers.
COMMANDMENT 7: Day off is privilege, not requirement.
Norris developed a list of other privileges for high-earners that included getting to watch TV, sleep in late and have sex with him.
COMMANDMENT 8: Living quarters to be clean.
The women's rooms were inspected, and their to-do lists included vacuuming, painting and landscaping.
COMMANDMENT 9: Lying, cheating, stealing not to be tolerated.
Norris encouraged women designated as "team leaders" to report any subversive behavior. He kept prostitution earnings in his safe — often withdrawing money for fines — along with the victims' IDs and cellular phones.
COMMANDMENT 10: Fines — attention getter. Minimum $5. Max $1,000. Don't know, ask Hardbody.
Even as they worked as prostitutes, the women said Norris kept them in a cycle of debt. They would pay fines into piggy banks. Each carried a label such as "Temper & Attitude," "Troublemaking" and "Talk too much." Any debate about fines or debts had one arbiter: Norris.
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Harrison 'Hardbody' Norris enforced strict set of rules on women.
By BRIAN FEAGANS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/01/08
Former pro-wrestler Harrison "Hardbody" Norris Jr. was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison, one of the harshest punishments ever handed down in a U.S. human trafficking case.
A jury convicted Norris, 42, on 24 counts in November, including forced labor, sex trafficking, peonage, aggravated sexual assault, witness tampering and obstruction. Norris targeted women who were homeless, addicted to drugs or in trouble with the law, luring them into his two Cartersville homes with the promise of a pro wrestling career. Instead, prosecutors say, he whipped them into shape for commercial sex.
U.S. District Judge Jack Camp said that although Norris' victims "weren't tied, chained or kept in the basement," he controlled them through psychological means. "Quite frankly," Camp said, "you seem to have a better understanding of psychology than most psychologists I've known."
Underpinning his sex slave ring was a mishmash of rules the women had to memorize. A closer look at his own laws — "Hardbody's 10 Commandments" — reveals how Norris broke those of the United States.
COMMANDMENT 1: Safety is always first. Egos are like eggs. They are going to get broken. Leave your problems in the streets. No Disrespecting.
Safety in Norris' case included condoms. He carried hundreds of them into trailer parks, nightclubs and homes where women were forced to have sex with paying customers. Disrespecting Norris came at a price. The victims testified that while he sometimes used physical force — from head butts to ordered beatings — Norris mainly controlled the women with mind games.
COMMANDMENT 2: Promptness.
A former staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, Norris ran the homes with military precision. The women had to wake at a certain time, perform a list of chores posted on the refrigerator and adhere to a strict diet. He slept in the "General's Quarters."
COMMANDMENT 3: Come together, leave together.
The victims testified that they were never allowed to be alone. One bathroom had a sign-in, sign-out sheet. And Norris would drive the women around in his black GMC Denali, license plate: "HARDBDY."
COMMANDMENT 4: Personal hygiene.
Women who didn't wear makeup, keep their nails manicured or do their hair faced fines. Norris developed a list of rules for the women to follow at clubs, including "use your hands when talking," "always make positive eye contact," and "keep boring talk to a bare minimum."
COMMANDMENT 5: Money.
Part of Norris' defense was that he already had plenty of it from a discrimination lawsuit against Atlanta-based World Championship Wrestling in 2000. Norris, who is black, settled out of court for a sum his family says was upward of $1 million. The women were told they could launch successful wrestling careers from the gym Norris built out back in Cartersville. But the women say they never earned a dime. For wrestling, that is.
COMMANDMENT 6: Know your job.
In some cases, the women's "job" was having sex with multiple men and women at the same time. The orgies were called "cut parties," and several victims testified that they were forced to participate. Witnesses described how Norris head-butted one woman and threatened to throw her out the window if she didn't' have sex with two customers.
COMMANDMENT 7: Day off is privilege, not requirement.
Norris developed a list of other privileges for high-earners that included getting to watch TV, sleep in late and have sex with him.
COMMANDMENT 8: Living quarters to be clean.
The women's rooms were inspected, and their to-do lists included vacuuming, painting and landscaping.
COMMANDMENT 9: Lying, cheating, stealing not to be tolerated.
Norris encouraged women designated as "team leaders" to report any subversive behavior. He kept prostitution earnings in his safe — often withdrawing money for fines — along with the victims' IDs and cellular phones.
COMMANDMENT 10: Fines — attention getter. Minimum $5. Max $1,000. Don't know, ask Hardbody.
Even as they worked as prostitutes, the women said Norris kept them in a cycle of debt. They would pay fines into piggy banks. Each carried a label such as "Temper & Attitude," "Troublemaking" and "Talk too much." Any debate about fines or debts had one arbiter: Norris.
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