Dallas man pleads guilty to child sex trafficking
DALLAS — A Dallas man, who facilitated his 16-year-old girlfriend’s commercial sex acts, pleaded guilty Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney to child sex trafficking.
This guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney John Parker, Northern District of Texas. This case was investigated by Irving (Texas) Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); both agencies are members of the North Texas Trafficking Task Force.
Trenton McLemore, 29, faces a statutory maximum penalty of not less than 10 years and up to life in federal prison, and a $250,000 fine. However, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, the appropriate term of imprisonment in this case is 252 months (21 years) in federal prison. Sentencing is set for Oct. 21 before U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn.
According to documents filed in the case, McLemore met “Jane Doe” and her family when she was 11 years old. In July 2013, when Jane Doe was 16 years old, she ran away from home to be with McLemore, and the two began living in motels.
On Aug. 1, 2013, McLemore began facilitating Jane Doe’s commercial sex acts in several ways. He asked friends and family to rent rooms for them at a Super 8 Motel and a Motel 6 in the Dallas area for her to use with commercial sex customers. McLemore also provided Jane Doe a cell phone for her to use to communicate with commercial sex customers. McLemore often used that phone to communicate with Jane Doe’s customers. McLemore sometimes posed as Jane Doe and texted her customers to arrange “dates,” leaving the motel room shortly before the customer arrived.
McLemore also took sexually explicit photos of Jane Doe that he distributed via text message to potential customers. Often, McLemore stayed near the motel room to act as Jane Doe’s bodyguard while she engaged in commercial sex acts; and he returned to the room shortly after the customer left to collect the proceeds from Jane Doe.
In mid-September 2013, a detective with the Irving Police Department conducted an operation to identify possible victims of human trafficking. During the operation, he found a commercial sex ad on Mocospace.com with photographs of a female who appeared to be underage. He contacted the number, and after exchanging several messages regarding a potential commercial sex act, they agreed to meet on Sept. 19, 2013 in a specific room at a Super 8 Motel in Irving, Texas.
As McLemore left that room shortly before the “date,” he was seen texting at the same time the detective was receiving messages about the “date.” When the detective arrived and entered the motel room, Jane Doe agreed to engage in a commercial sex act with him. She was then placed in custody and law enforcement determined she was a 16-year-old runaway from Dallas.
McLemore had stayed nearby while that “date” occurred, and his personal items were later found inside that motel room. When law enforcement learned Jane Doe’s age, they arrested McLemore for compelling prostitution of a person under the age of 18 and human trafficking. He has been in custody since that time.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Foos Pierce, Northern District of Texas, is in charge of the prosecution.
This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.