(Council Bluffs, IA) A southwest Iowa business owner has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after being convicted of sex trafficking and drug crimes in July. Seventy-one-year-old Hershal James Ratliff owned Jimmy’s All-American Diner and some rental properties in Council Bluffs. Federal prosecutors say they identified several victims who had been in high school when they encountered Ratliff. Investigators say he used his properties as places to recruit and groom victims. They say he convinced them to engage in sex acts with him and his friends in return for money, alcohol, or drugs.
