Five Arrested in Houston Sex Trafficking Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
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Four men and one woman have been arrested on charges of conspiracy and sex trafficking of children, as well as forcing and coercing adults to engage in commercial sex acts.

The charges against the six total defendants represent the single-largest domestic sex trafficking case ever prosecuted in the Southern District of Texas.

“The protection of the innocent and the most vulnerable among us is one of the most important obligations of law enforcement,” said Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer. “Sex trafficking, especially the trafficking of children, is unconscionable, and federal law enforcement is working closely with state and local authorities to fight this most reprehensible sort of exploitation.”

“It is a horrible reflection on our society when adults prey on the vulnerabilities of children and reduce them to indentured sex slaves,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Tim Johnson.  “Whenever and wherever offenses of such a depraved nature occur, our law enforcement community will respond with the sum of our collective prosecutorial resources.”

Five of the six defendants were arrested late Monday, Aug. 24, 2009, and early Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009, in a coordinated effort between federal and local law enforcement with warrants issued following the return of a sealed indictment by a Houston grand jury on Aug. 4, 2009.

The indictment unsealed today charges John Butler, 47; William Hornbeak, 34; Jamine Lake, 27; Andre McDaniels, 39; Kristen Land, 28; all of Houston, and Ronnie Presley, 35, formerly of Houston and currently of Tulsa, Okla., with conspiracy to traffic women and children for the purposes of commercialized sex; sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; transportation of minors; transportation; and coercion and enticement.

Upon conviction, each count of sex trafficking and transportation of minors carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Each count of transportation carries up to 10 years in prison, charges for coercion and enticement carry up to 20 years in prison and conspiracy carries up to five years in prison. All charges carry up to a $250,000 fine.

Butler, Hornbeak, Lake, McDaniels and Land were arrested in Houston. The government will ask the court to hold all the defendants in federal custody without bond pending trial. Presley is a fugitive and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest. Anyone with information about Presley’s whereabouts is encouraged to contact their local FBI field office, or the Houston FBI Field Office at (713)-693-5000.

According to the unsealed indictment, the defendants allegedly operated commercialized sex businesses often disguised as modeling studios, health spas, massage parlors and bikini bars in Houston, and used sexually oriented publications and Web sites to advertise their illicit business. The criminal enterprise allegedly transported women and minors to and from the Houston area and had ties to Kansas, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. Women and minors as young as 16 were allegedly enticed and coerced into prostitution and were routinely beaten and threatened. The defendants allegedly collected any proceeds the women and minors received as a result of “dates,” rendering them dependent upon the defendants for basic necessities.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

“The defendants are charged with transporting and threatening young women with violence in order to force them into prostitution,” Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot said. “A concerted, cooperative effort by state and federal law enforcement is cracking down on the horrific crime of human trafficking – and those who profit from it.”

The investigation leading to the charges was conducted by the FBI’s Innocence Lost Task Force and the Houston Police Department as part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative. A joint effort of the FBI, the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the initiative was founded in June 2003 to address criminal enterprises involving the domestic sex trafficking of children.  At least one minor was rescued during the course of the investigation. Other minors and several adults have been returned to their families.

“From low-tech methods such as prostituting minors at truck stops, to high-tech methods such as internet advertising, our children are being used as commodities for sale or trade,” FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Richard C. Powers said. “Here in Houston we have established unprecedented cooperation among law enforcement agencies that are working together to link cases, make arrests, and rescue children being sold on our streets. We will not allow our city to be a safe haven for this unconscionable activity.  If you hear about it, if you suspect it, report it.”

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Zack and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Goodwin of the Southern District of Texas and of the Texas Attorney General’s Office and Trial Attorney Michael Yoon of CEOS.

Signs of Sexual Assault

Physical Evidence

Difficulty Going To The Bathroom

Blood of Semen on the child’s diaper or clothing.

Unexplained lesions in genital and or anal area.

Presence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)

Frequent vaginal infections

• Behavioral changes
• Failure to thrive
• Extreme change in mood, grades, social interactions
• Loss of appetite
• Fear of being left alone with someone
• Mental health deterioration, Suicidal tendencies
• Age inappropriate knowledge of Sexual Behaviors
• Sexualized behaviors
• Poor body image and or self esteem
• Self mutilation
• Delinquency
• At risk behaviors

Boarding Schools

Assimilation policies also took the form of mandatory boarding schools, with devastating consequences that continue to reverberate today through out Indian Country. It is believed that the prevalence of Indian-on-Indian domestic and sexual violence in Native communities is rooted in the forced removal of Indian children from their homes and from their families and Tribes into religious and government-operated boarding schools.  I must add that some of the boarding schools were run by the military, for instance the Fort Totten Boarding School in North Dakota. This boarding school had grey nuns from Canada that were established on site and housed children from the age of five, forcibly taken from their families. The school it self is still standing today. Under the school is dirt sellers with bars where children were placed in solitary confinement.  Twenty inch paths from dorm to classrooms were patrolled by military on horseback carrying crops to keep children on the beaten path. Apache women had their garments adapted  (skirts) made wide and large, to attempt to hide their children from agents.

From 1879 through the 1950s,  more that 300 boarding schools across the county taught lessons of self hate, domestic and sexual abuse, gender stereotypes and patriarchal norms to Native children forced or coerced into attending the schools.

Children attending the boarding schools were not permitted to see their families, speak their own language, or follow their cultural practices or traditional religion, the children were expected to  stay for a minimum of four years.

It is believed thst the prevalence of Indian-on-Indian domestic and sexual assault in Native communities is rooted in the forced removal of Indian from their homes and from their families and tribes and into religious snd government-operated boarding schools. -Felix S. Cohen

Felix Solomon Cohen (July 3, 1907 – October 19, 1953) was a lawyer and scholar who made a lasting mark on legal philosophy and fundamentally shaped federal Indian law and policy.

Cohen was the drafter of the centerpiece legislation of this era, the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. In 1939 he became Chief of the Indian Law Survey, an effort to compile the federal laws and treaties regarding American Indians. The resulting book, published in 1941 as The Handbook of Federal Indian Law.

The trauma suffered from boarding school survivors is expressed today in substance abuse,  suicide, domestic violence,  pedophelia, sexual assault, and being passed on to further generations.

To: I want to die help me do it….and my son died I want to die.

First of all, your life is sacred. You are created by God and you have a purpose in this circle of life. LOVE YOURSELF…WRAP YOUR ARMS AROUND YOUR SELF!

The whole world relates the color red or crimson to love. In you is your blood that the creator has colored love.

When you awaken in the morning the creator colors the dawn with crimson his message is today ” I LOVE YOU!”

Native American people believe that during one days time referred to as a red day, is a life time. Each moment is precious and every breath is a gift. The night is called a blue day every dream a gift.

Your children are not your own, you do not own them, they are a gift. I lost a son at three years old his name was Parris Lee Laverdure. His Indian name is Giimiiwaan (rain). He is connected to me through umbilical, his spirit is always beside me. His gift to me is this uderstanding and the time he graced me with his presense will live in me as precious and I am grateful to the creator for this gift. Your son is there with you your greif he feels. You must continue to be a strong mother to him so that he can be happy to enjoy his relatives in that place that is veiled by human eyes. Believe that you will see him again and today do what you would have done for him for another son not of your own.

The Creator God in the dusk of the upcoming blue day will remind you that you are loved in the crimson that graces us as human beings.

Because Knowledge is Power

If you need information on domestic violence, step by step procedures on filing restraining orders or injunctions or need forms to print out for your State just click on WomensLaw.org. under the blogroll.

Help me I want to die

In Harms Way

Suicide in America

In 2000, suicide was the leading cause of death in the U.S.. Specifically, 10.6 out of every 100,000 persons died by suicide. The total number of suicides was 29,350 or 1.2 percent of all deaths. Suicide deaths outnumbered homicide deaths by five to three. It is estimated that there may be from eight to 25 attempted suicides per every on suicide death.

Woman report attempting suicide during their lifetime about three times as often as men. About four times as many men as women die by suicide. Suicide by firearm is the most common method for both men and woman accounting for 57 percent of all suicides in 2000.

Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds it is also the 3rd leading cause of death among children ages 10-14. This also includes five times as many males as females.

Suicide among people 20-24 years of age, the suicide rate was 12.8 per 100.000 young adults, with seven times as many deaths among men as among women.

Older adults, individuals age 65 and older accounting for 18 percent of all suicide deaths in 2000.

If someone is suicidal, he or she must not be left alone. Try to get the person to seek help immediately from his or her doctor or the nearest hospital emergency room, or call 911. It is also important to limit the person’s access to firearms, medications, or other lethal methods for suicide.

We can help….. just comment below…write….or call….your not alone!