Three San Antonio Men Sentenced in Minor Sex Trafficking Ring

Three San Antonio men have been slammed with decades in federal prison for running a brutal sex trafficking operation that preyed on five underage girls. Melvin Lee Sullivan Deams, 20; his father, Melvin Lee Sullivan, 43, also known as “Wink”; and Michael Antoine McHenry, 22, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in a case that exposed the grim underbelly of online exploitation.

Deams received a 60-year sentence, the harshest of the three, while Sullivan was handed 25 years behind bars. McHenry was sentenced to 20 years. Each man was also ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution to every identified victim—a symbolic but necessary acknowledgment of the damage they inflicted.

Court documents reveal the trio manipulated and coerced five juvenile females into prostitution during a two-week span ending October 8, 2015. They used the now-infamous website Backpage.com to advertise the girls, forcing them into sexual acts for cash—then seized every dollar the victims earned. The operation was a calculated, profit-driven machine built on the suffering of children.

In August 2016, McHenry and Sullivan pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of minors. Deams followed in September, admitting his role in the same charge. The swift guilty pleas came after FBI and San Antonio Police Department investigators amassed overwhelming digital and testimonial evidence, including messages, financial records, and victim statements.

A fourth defendant, 20-year-old Rashawn Ledamion Gamble of San Antonio, avoided prison time but was sentenced on October 6, 2016, to five years of probation after pleading guilty to misprision of felony—knowing about the crimes and failing to report them.

The investigation was a joint effort by the FBI’s San Antonio Division and the San Antonio Police Department, with support from the Bexar County Juvenile Probation Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bettina Richardson and Diana Cruz-Zapata prosecuted the case, ensuring the ringleaders faced justice. The message is clear: exploit children, and the federal system will bury you.

RELATED: Deported Dealer Back in the Game: NH Meth Operation Crumbles

RELATED: Paxton Probes Schools