“Glizzy” Javon Opoku Sentenced to 30+ Years for Sex Trafficking Teen Girls

A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to 30+ years for sex trafficking teenage girls in Houston, Texas.

Javon Yaw Opoku, also known as “Glizzy,” pleaded guilty on June 7, 2023, to conspiring to traffic a minor for commercial sex. U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr. handed down the prison term, citing Opoku’s duty to the people he harmed and his forfeiture of the right to be around other members of society for a long time.

Opoku will serve 365 months in federal prison, followed by 10 years on supervised release. During this time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

Opoku’s crimes involved the exploitation and victimization of young teenage girls, who were forced to engage in sex acts with clients for money in cars and hotels around the Bissonnet “blade” in Houston. The blade, or “track,” is an area near 59 Southwest Freeway and Bissonnet Street where traffickers commonly place their victims to engage in commercial sex.

Opoku and his co-conspirators passed around or reassigned victims amongst one another, taught each other “the pimp game,” and forced the young girls to walk the blade while Opoku and others kept the proceeds. The victims were required to pay an exit fee or get “beat out” to switch between pimps, and some traffickers demanded daily quotas each night from their victims.

If the victims failed to meet their daily quotas, they were severely punished through beatings and humiliation. Co-conspirator Jerreck Michael Hilliard, also known as “Jmoney,” was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison on April 12.

The investigation was initiated by the Houston Police Department with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office as part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA). Established in 2004, HTRA combines resources with federal, state, and local enforcement agencies and prosecutors to target human traffickers and provide services to their victims.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kate Suh and Anthony Franklyn prosecuted the case, along with former A.U.S. Attorney Richard Bennett. Opoku will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.