Dallas gang member sentenced to 21 years in federal prison on child sex trafficking conviction
DALLAS — A Dallas man who sex trafficked his 16-year-old girlfriend was sentenced Wednesday to 21 years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G Lynn.
This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. Officers with Irving (Texas) Police Department, and special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Dallas investigated this case.
Trenton McLemore, 29, a documented Webb Chapel Crip gang member, has been in custody since his arrest by officers with the Irving Police Department in September 2013. He pleaded guilty in July 2015 to one count of sex trafficking children.
“Prosecuting human trafficking predators, like Trenton McLemore, is a top priority in north Texas and throughout the Department of Justice,” said U.S. Attorney Parker. “The close working relationships we have established through the North Texas Anti-Trafficking Taskforce have made prosecutions like this possible. That task force, made up of other federal agencies, as well as state and local officials, community service providers, and experts who are already involved in anti-trafficking initiatives, is committed to not only bringing those predators to justice, but to examining the causes of, and solutions to, this violent behavior. In this case, I particularly commend the excellent collaboration and investigative work of the Irving Police Department and HSI Dallas.”
“For predators convicted of the horrendous crime of sex trafficking minors, there are severe consequences in the form of lengthy prison sentences and a lifetime stigma, as Mr. McLemore has learned firsthand,” said Katrina W. Berger, special agent in charge of HSI Dallas. “Homeland Security Investigations employs exhaustive investigative techniques, and routinely works with local, state, federal and international law enforcement to identify and pursue prosecution against these sex trafficking predators, and rescue their victims.”
“We are grateful to everyone who worked together in bringing Mr. McLemore to justice for his terrible crimes,” said Chief Larry Boyd of the Irving Police Department. “Their efforts to rescue an underage victim of sex trafficking and take an active sexual offender off the street are highly commendable.”
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, sometimes posing as her and texting her customers to arrange “dates” and then 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; he returned to the room shortly after the customer left to collect the proceeds.
In mid-September 2013, a detective with the Irving Police Department conducting an operation to identify possible human trafficking victims 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, prosecuted this case.
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.
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