Two men sent to prison for trafficking troubled teenager

DOJ Press
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HOUSTON – Two Houstonians are on their way to federal prison after admitting to recruiting a teenager on social media and trafficking her for sex, announced acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.   

Demetrius Delaan White, 30, and Deonte Danquise Bailey-Roach, 28, pleaded guilty Jan. 27.

Today, U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt sentenced White to 240 months, while Bailey-Roach received a 14-month-term of imprisonment. The court considered statements from the minor victim and her mother detailing the lasting impact of the teenager’s victimization. Both will be ordered to pay restitution to the victim and serve an additional five years on supervised release following completion of the prison terms, during which time they will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict access to children and the internet. Both will also be ordered to register as sex offenders.

In 2017, White and Bailey-Roach recruited a troubled teenager on social media. They then brought her from her home in Stephenville to Houston to engage in commercial sex acts.


Over the next four days, they exploited the minor victim for their own sexual gratification and profit.  They posted the minor victim on internet advertisements for commercial sex, during which time more than 300 people expressed interest. They rented motel rooms for the sex acts, drove her to clients’ homes and took her to a truck stop. They also had her walk on Bissonnet Street, an area commonly known for an open and rampant sex trade.


To induce the minor victim into continuing to engage in the activity, both men gave her drugs before the commercial sex acts. They also kept all the cash proceeds.

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

The FBI and the Houston Police Department (HPD), both part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA), conducted the investigation.

HTRA law enforcement includes members of the HPD, FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Texas Attorney General’s Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Department of Labor, Department of State, Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission, Texas Department of Public Safety, Coast Guard and Sheriff’s Offices in Harris and Montgomery counties in coordination with District Attorney’s offices in Harris, Montgomery and Fort Bend Counties.

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 Kate Suh and Sebastian Edwards are prosecuting the case.

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