NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A man was convicted in Norfolk Circuit Court of sexually assaulting and robbing a sex worker.

On June 27, Zimonion Melvin Adams, 25, was found guilty by a jury of abduction, as well as two counts each of rape, sodomy and extortion.

The incident occurred at a hotel off of Shore Dr. on Sept. 1, 2024.

According to a press release from the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Adams met up with a sex worker who he’d had previous encounters with under the guise of paying her for services.

When he arrived, however, he brandished a knife and demanded money.

“Mr. Adams said that he was going to have sex with her first, forced her to perform oral sex upon him at knifepoint, and raped her,” the release reads. “Mr. Adams then made the victim call her relatives, and two of them sent money to Mr. Adams through a banking app.”

The victim contacted police after the incident and helped identify Adams, who was arrested 10 days later. Investigators recovered a knife and a gun from his car.

Adams pleaded not guilty to the charges. The trial began on June 24.

“Sex workers are among our most vulnerable victims, because the nature of their work makes them less likely to speak to the police and more likely to be targeted for robbery and rape,” Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said in the release. “Nobody deserves to go through what this victim endured, and at sentencing we will recommend a prison term that accounts for the seriousness of Mr. Adams’s crimes and protects the community from further harm.”

Adams’ sentencing hearing date is set for Oct. 31.

“Mr. Adams violated the victim in this case in a premeditated, violent, and ruthless fashion,” Fatehi said. “I am thankful to the survivor of this crime for coming forward and to the police for taking her allegations seriously and investigating them right.