sex trafficking

Rakim Sharkey, 31, could have spent the rest of his life in prison for sex trafficking three people — two of whom were children. But in 2023 a prosecutor with Ken Paxton’s office let the man plead guilty to a charge with no prison time and no sex offender status.

The music mogul was found guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution, but the jury found him not guilty on three counts related to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.

Officials said they recovered eight victims of sex trafficking as more than 100,000 people came to San Antonio for the Final Four games and related events.

Advocacy group Rights4Girls is using a billboard campaign in multiple cities, including San Antonio.

It’s a problem in Texas that few want to talk about— the sex trafficking of young men and boys. A first-ever statewide public campaign "Boys and Young Men are Sex Trafficked Too" is being launched to raise awareness of male victims of sex trafficking. The nonprofits Ranch Hand Rescue and Bob’s House of Hope report that up to 50% of sex-trafficked youth are boys.

Lisa Phillips is speaking out about the sex abuse she experienced from Jeffrey Epstein. She is an advocate for women healing from abuse and trauma.

Karla Jacinto Romero, a human trafficking victim who became an anti-trafficking advocate, told CNN's Rafael Romo that she was not trafficked by Mexican drug cartels. She also said she was not trafficked in the U.S. and was kept in captivity from 2004 to 2008, during a time when former President George W. Bush was in office.

The movie is being criticized as a vehicle for conspiracy theories and misleading depictions of human trafficking — landing it in the middle of the country's politically polarized culture wars.

The Refuge's license was suspended last year when it was discovered an employee had offered to sell nude photos of two girls in exchange for drug money. The nonprofit sex-trafficking treatment center reached a settlement with the state that allowed it to reopen.

Irma Reyes came to court to get justice for her daughter. Instead, the defendants received far less than what she thought they deserved. Reyes considered the sentence a betrayal.