Texas Man Jailed 22 Years for Sex Trafficking Ring

A Texas man, Gregory Massey, 30, was sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, according to the Department of Justice.

Massey and his girlfriend, Patricia Hart, 25, forced two adult victims to engage in commercial sex in different locations in 2021 and 2022. The victims were advertised on websites, and Massey and Hart kept the money the victims made from commercial sex transactions.

The victims were also required to earn a minimum dollar amount from commercial sex every day, and their access to food was restricted. Massey tracked the geolocation data on the victims’ phones to control their movements and used physical violence, including punching and strangling one victim while another watched, and threats of physical violence to force the victims to comply with his demands.

Massey pleaded guilty in January and agreed to pay $128,800 in restitution to the victims. As a result of his plea, he must also participate in the sex offender registration and notification program.

Patricia Hart, Massey’s girlfriend and co-defendant, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking in November 2023. She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Louisiana State Police. Trial Attorney Melissa E. Bücher of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria M. Carboni for the Eastern District of Louisiana prosecuted the case.

The announcement was made by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana; and Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Louisiana Field Division.