Houston Man Gets 30-Year Sentence for Sex Trafficking of Minors
A 22-year-old Houston man has been handed a significant federal prison sentence following his convictions of trafficking two children under the age of 18 for commercial sex, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez on .
Antonio Rasheed Benjamin, aka ‘Papi P’, pleaded guilty on March 24, 2017. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon to 360 months in prison, which is equivalent to 30 years, followed by 10 years of supervised release. Benjamin will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet, and he will be ordered to register as a sex offender.
The investigation into Benjamin began after a woman he had assaulted contacted authorities in . Benjamin knew the girls were minors and groomed them to engage in commercial sex by promising them riches and a lavish lifestyle. He arranged for girls to work as strippers and prostitute for him, and he regularly transported women to and from strip clubs, rented hotel rooms for the purpose of commercial sex acts, and posted ads on backpage.com advertising the girls. Benjamin took all of the money the minors earned.
One of the victims said she felt obligated to live with Benjamin and was forced to prostitute for him. She indicated that while she was with him, she worked every day and averaged two or more customers per night. Another victim stated that girls who stripped in clubs for him had to make $100 a night or ‘there were consequences.’
On more than one occasion, Benjamin left one of the victims stranded in unknown locations. Another victim recounted an incident in which Benjamin had punched her in the chest and it hurt for days.
Benjamin has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. The Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) conducted the investigation, which included members of the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Houston Police Department, sheriff’s offices in Harris and Montgomery counties, Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission, Texas Attorney General’s Office, Department of State, Department of Labor, IRS, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Established in 2004, the United States Attorney’s office in Houston formed the HTRA to combine resources with federal, state, and local enforcement agencies and prosecutors, as well as non-governmental service organizations to target human traffickers while providing necessary services to those that the traffickers victimized. Since its inception, HTRA has been recognized as a national model in identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and prosecuting those engaged in trafficking offenses.
In 2016, the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance received $1.5 million in federal funds from the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Office for Victims of Crime through the Enhanced Collaborative Model Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force Program, which provides funding to investigate and prosecute cases of human trafficking and provide services to victims.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Sex Crimes|Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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