2 north Texas men plead guilty to sex trafficking charges

FORT WORTH, Texas – Two north Texas men pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to sex trafficking charges, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Craig Jerome Gadley Jr., 22, and Joshua Alexander Smith, 24, both of Mansfield, Texas, made their pleas before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton. More specifically, Gadley pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of a minor and faces not less than 10 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Smith pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and faces not less than 15 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. They are scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 19, 2013 before U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means.

According to plea documents filed in the case, law enforcement learned in June 2011 that a 16-year-old female, "K.P." had been working as a prostitute for Gadley, aka "Cjay the Don," in and around the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) area. K.P. met Gadley while she was working as a stripper at a night club in Fort Worth, Texas. Gadley promised her that she could earn more money by working for him. Gadley gave K.P. money and took her shopping. Although he knew she was 16-years-old, he told her he didn't care, but she owed him for the money he had provided her.

Gadley took photographs of K.P. in lingerie and in the nude, and then posted advertisements of her on websites used to promote and advertise commercial prostitution. He drove her to hotel rooms in the DFW area and directed her to have sex with men for money. Gadley took all of those proceeds, and provided her with food, clothing and condoms, and hotel rooms for her to use.

Another female, 19-year-old "C.W.," who worked as a prostitute for Smith, was arrested for prostitution July 30, 2011. She was arrested after undercover officers saw ads for her on the Internet and arranged to meet her at a hotel in Arlington, Texas.

The plea documents further state that Smith and C.W. had dated until he convinced her that she could make a lot of money if she worked for him as a prostitute. She eventually agreed and began working for Smith in May 2011. Smith placed ads for C.W. on websites that advertised prostitution, and he received all the money she earned. He provided her necessities such as food, gas and clothing. He also provided her condoms and hotel rooms for her to use in the Fort Worth area.

C.W. was fearful of Smith. While working for him, he choked her, held her against a wall, poured drinks on her head, pulled her hair and threatened to harm her. He kept pushing her to work longer hours and acquire more clients.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the HSI-led North Texas Trafficking Task Force, including the Texas police departments of Arlington, Dallas and Fort Worth.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Wolfe is in charge of the prosecution.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE 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, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.