Local nonprofit works with community leaders to educate families about child sex trafficking
They are amazing, beautiful and photogenic. They consist of leaders, advocates, law enforcement and some survivors who all assembled at a recent photoshoot in The Woodlands to draw attention to an ongoing problem in our community.
Houston man who sex trafficked 14-year-old girl sentenced to 25 years in prison
HOUSTON โ A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for sex trafficking a 14-year-old girl, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery. Trevien Thomas, aka Triggah, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking a minor on Jan. 6. On March 23, 2016, officials say Thomas picked up a 14-year-old girl in Dallas and brought her to Houston. Officials say he then forced the minor to engage in commercial sex acts with multiple adult men over the course of five days. On March 28, 2016, officials say Thomas left the girl alone in a motel room, at which time she was able to escape.
Houston man convicted of sex trafficking sentenced to life, ordered to pay nearly $1M
HOUSTON โ A Houston man convicted of sex trafficking adults and minors has been sentenced to life in prison and ordered to pay nearly $1 million in restitution, authorities said. David Mearis was charged with five separate counts of sex trafficking and was convicted back in October 2019, officials said. On Monday, the 45-year-old was sentenced โto life in federal prison on each count to run concurrently. He was further ordered to pay $921,680 in restitution to the victims,โ according to a news release. According to the news release, both considered Mearis their boyfriend at first โbut were eventually forced to engage in commercial sex in north Houston.
Some viral human trafficking posts do more harm than good
In a post on their Facebook page, Sugar Land police denied the details of that post saying while a woman did report suspicious activity they never made the link to sex trafficking and had no other reports of sex trafficking in the area. The Montgomery County Sheriffโs Office also used its Facebook page to call reports of zip ties being used to mark the cars of potential victims for human trafficking in Conroe a hoax. The realityChaney said the posts perpetuate a Hollywood-version of how human trafficking occurs. The viral posts also typically include a statistic about Houston being the number one hub in the United States for human trafficking. Some advocates working to stop human trafficking warn against dismissing all of the viral posts.