Dallas man faces up to life in federal prison for sex trafficking a 17-year-old runaway

DALLAS — A Dallas man, who sex trafficked a 17-year-old girl who he met on the Internet, pleaded guilty Tuesday to sex-trafficking charges.

This guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney John Parker, Northern District of Texas.  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated.

Ladestro Douglas, aka “Derek Douglas,” 35, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children.  Douglas faces a maximum statutory sentence of life in federal prison.  Sentencing is set for June 3.

According to documents filed in the case, in May 2012, Douglas contacted 17-year-old “Jane Doe #1” on the Internet and began communicating with her.  He convinced her to leave her foster home in Alabama and travel with him to Texas.  When they arrived in Texas, Douglas facilitated Jane Doe #1 engaging in commercial sex acts.  He took provocative photos of her for use on commercial sex websites; posted her on Backpage.com and other similar commercial sex websites; provided her with contraceptives to use with customers; and drove her to various cities to engage in commercial sex acts.  Jane Doe #1 gave Douglas all the money she earned.

In June 22, 2012, officers with the Dallas Police Department responded to a disturbance call at a local hotel.  In the parking lot, they encountered Jane Doe #1, who explained that she had gotten in an altercation with her pimp, Douglas.  Officers learned Jane Doe #1 was a 17-year-old runaway from Alabama, and they arrested Douglas.  Douglas admitted that he knew she was age 17 and that she had been engaging in commercial sex acts throughout Texas.  Afterwards, Jane Doe #1 lost contact with Douglas for several months, but after she turned 18, they reunited and Douglas continued to facilitate her commercial sex acts.

In December 2013, Jane Doe #1 and another woman were in Odessa, Texas, working at Douglas’s direction.  They encountered 16-year-old Jane Doe #2 walking down the street, offered her a ride and she joined them.  Jane Doe #1 contacted Douglas about Jane Doe #2 and he travelled to Odessa to meet her.

Douglas, Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 traveled back to Dallas on a bus.  After they arrived, Jane Doe #1 began facilitating Jane Doe #2’s engaging in commercial sex acts. They took provocative photos of her and posted her ad on Backpage.com.  Jane Doe #1, at Douglas’s direction, contacted certain customers to see if they wanted to pay to have sex with Jane Doe #2. Jane Doe #1 rode in the car with Jane Doe #2 to her commercial sex transactions, but she did not go into the room where they occurred.  Jane Doe #2 gave all of the money she earned to Douglas.

Ultimately, in late December 2013, Jane Doe #2 told Douglas she wanted to go home for the Christmas holidays, and he allowed her to leave.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Foos Pierce, Northern District of Texas, is prosecuting 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 10,000 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 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

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. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. 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.