Wednesday, June 5, 2024

HOUSTON – A 23-year-old man has been sentenced for conspiring to traffic a minor for commercial sex, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani.

Javon Yaw Opoku aka “Glizzy” pleaded guilty June 7, 2023.

U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr has now sentenced Opoku to 365 months in federal prison. In handing down the prison term, the court noted the duty to the people Opoku harmed and that he had forfeited the right to be around other members of society for a very long time. Restitution will be determined at a later date. Opoku will serve 10 years on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Opoku will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

From April 2019 to February 2020, Opoku and co-conspirators recruited young teenage girls and forced them to engage in sex acts with clients for money in cars and hotels around the Bissonnet “blade.”

“Opoku spent years exploiting and victimizing little girls and other vulnerable members of our community,” said Hamdani. “Opoku will now spend the next 30+ years away from our community, unable to continue his exploitation and victimization of our daughters and neighbors.

The Blade: A Dark Underworld

The blade or “track” is an area near 59 Southwest Freeway and Bissonnet Street in Houston where traffickers commonly place their victims to engage in commercial sex.

Opoku and co-conspirators passed around or reassigned victims amongst one another, taught each other “the pimp game,” forced the young girls to walk the blade while Opoku and others kept the proceeds.

Daily Quotas and Brutality

The young girls were required to pay an exit fee or get “beat out” to switch between pimps. Some traffickers required 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 aka “Jmoney” was sentenced April 12 to 292 months in federal prison.

Opoku will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA)

Houston Police Department initiated the investigation with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office as a part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA). Established in 2004, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Houston formed 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 both a national and international model in identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and prosecuting those engaged in trafficking offenses.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA) Kate Suh and Anthony Franklyn prosecuted the case along with former AUSA Richard Bennett.

Recognizing the Signs

As the U.S. anti-trafficking movement has grown in our understanding of this diverse and complex crime, we are learning more about how specific people, such as medical professionals, teachers, truck drivers, and restaurant personnel, in addition to friends and family members, can help identify and report possible trafficking. Everyone can help by learning the types of trafficking and paying attention to the people around us.

Who is Most Vulnerable?

Anyone can experience trafficking in any community, just as anyone can be the victim of any kind of crime. While it can happen to anyone, evidence suggests that people of color and LGBTQ+ people are more likely to experience trafficking than other demographic groups. Generational trauma, historic oppression, discrimination, and other societal factors and inequities create community-wide vulnerabilities. Traffickers recognize and take advantage of people who are vulnerable.

People may be vulnerable to trafficking if they:

• Have an unstable living situation
• Have previously experienced other forms of violence such as sexual abuse or domestic violence
• Have run away or are involved in the juvenile justice or child welfare system
• Are undocumented immigrants
• Are facing poverty or economic need
• Have a caregiver or family member who has a substance use issue
• Are addicted to drugs or alcohol

Who Are the Traffickers

There is no evidence that traffickers are more likely to be of a particular race, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation. They may be family members, romantic partners, acquaintances, or strangers.

How Traffickers Lure People In

Stories become weapons in the hands of human traffickers — tales of romantic love everlasting or about good jobs and fair wages just over the horizon. Sometimes, the stories themselves raise red flags. Other times, traffickers or potential traffickers may raise red flags during recruitment.

Here are a few situations that might raise concerns:

• A would-be employer refuses to give workers a signed contract or asks them to sign a contract in a language they can’t read.
• A would-be employer collects fees from a potential worker for the “opportunity” to work in a particular job.
• A friend, family member, co-worker, or student is newly showered with gifts or money or otherwise becomes involved in an overwhelming, fast-moving, and asymmetric (e.g., large difference in age or financial status) romantic relationship.
• A friend, family member, or student is a frequent runaway and may be staying with someone who is not their parent or guardian.
• A family member, friend, co-worker, or student is developing a relationship that seems too close with someone they know solely on social media.
• A family member, friend, or student lives with a parent or guardian and shows signs of abuse.
• A family member, friend, or co-worker is offered a job opportunity that seems too good to be true.
• A family member, friend, or co-worker is recruited for an opportunity that requires them to move far away, but their recruiter or prospective employer avoids answering their questions or is reluctant to provide detailed information about the job.

Recognizing Labor Trafficking

Labor trafficking includes situations where men, women, and children are forced to work because of debt, immigration status, threats and violence. Keeping victims isolated — physically or emotionally — is a key method of control in most labor trafficking situations. But that does not mean you never cross paths with someone who is experiencing trafficking.

Someone may be experiencing labor trafficking or exploitation if they:

• Feel pressured by their employer to stay in a job or situation they want to leave
• Owe money to an employer or recruiter or are not being paid what they were promised or are owed
• Do not have control of their passport or other identity documents
• Are living and working in isolated conditions, largely cut off from interaction with others or support systems
• Appear to be monitored by another person when talking or interacting with others
• Are being threatened by their boss with deportation or other harm
• Are working in dangerous conditions without proper safety gear, training, adequate breaks, or other protections
• Are living in dangerous, overcrowded, or inhumane conditions provided by an employer

Recognizing Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking occurs when individuals are made to perform commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Any child under 18 who is involved in commercial sex is legally a victim of trafficking, regardless of whether there is a third party involved.

Someone may be experiencing sex trafficking if they:

• Want to stop participating in commercial sex but feel scared or unable to leave the situation.
• Disclose that they were reluctant to engage in commercial sex but that someone pressured them into it.
• Live where they work or are transported by guards between home and workplace.
• Are children who live with or are dependent on a family member with a substance use problem or who is abusive.
• Have a “pimp” or “manager” in the commercial sex industry.
• Work in an industry where it may be common to be pressured into performing sex acts for money, such as a strip club, illicit cantina, go-go bar, or illicit massage business.
• Have a controlling parent, guardian, romantic partner, or “sponsor” who will not allow them to meet or speak with anyone alone or who monitors their movements, spending, or communications.

If you believe you are a victim of human trafficking or may have information about a potential trafficking situation, please contact the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 911.