HOUSTON – A 29-year-old former Katy resident has been
ordered to prison for conspiring to compel three adult women to engage in sex
trafficking by means of force and violence in Houston and other locations
across the country, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Marquis Holmes aka Goldie pleaded guilty June 13, 2019, to
one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by means of force, fraud
and coercion; two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution; and two
counts of enticing and coercing another to travel in interstate commerce for
prostitution.
Today, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake sentenced Holmes to 420
months for the conspiracy as well as 120 months and 240 months for the
transportation and enticement convictions, respectively. The sentences will all
run concurrently for a total 420-month-term of imprisonment. The court also
heard from one of Holmes’ victims who described how he forced her to earn $1500
per day or suffer severe consequences. She described how Holmes physically
assaulted her, which included kicking and whipping her repeatedly with a thick
belt in order to exert his control. She said Holmes was amused during moments
when he would physically assault her. The victim also detailed the paranoia,
fear and depression she suffered for years after leaving Holmes.
In handing down the sentence, the court noted the heinous
and violent nature of Holmes’ crimes. He will serve 20 years on supervised
release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have
to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to
children and the internet. Holmes will also be ordered to register as a sex
offender.
From June 2015 until his arrest in March 2018, Holmes
scoured social media websites to recruit women, often under false pretenses, to
work as prostitutes for him. Under threat of violence and actual violence,
Holmes prostituted two of these women in Houston and Austin; New Orleans,
Louisiana; Memphis, Tennessee; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Mississippi; Alabama;
South Carolina and other locations across the country. Holmes coerced the women
to pose for pictures used in online advertisements for sex and to engage in
commercial sex acts for money. Holmes collected all the money the women earned.
On March 30, 2018, authorities arrested Holmes, at which
time they rescued a third victim whom he had kidnapped in his residence along
with her infant child. While raping her daily, Holmes forced her to solicit
commercial sex dates along the 1.3 mile stretch of Bissonnet Street, commonly
referred to as “The Track,” while he kept close tabs on her and her infant
child. If she did not meet the monetary quota Holmes had set, he beat her and
deprived her of food.
Holmes has been and will remain in custody pending transfer
to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) conducted the
investigation.
HTRA law enforcement includes members of the Houston Police
Department, 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 United States 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 Sebastian Edwards and Carrie
Wirsing prosecuted this case.
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