Two teens were saved from a human trafficking situation and two adult suspects were arrested after a call from the Petro Truck Stop near I-10 and Walden Road on June 4, according to a Beaumont Police Department press release.
The investigation continues, but a missing teenager and another were rescued by police who searched area hotels after receiving the crime tip. Police arrested Darrell Jordan, 22, of Beaumont, and Paige Sidney, 19, of Groves. Both suspects have been charged with Trafficking of a Person after the officers found what they called evidence of human trafficking. The two are being held at the Jefferson County Jail. Jordan was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, about 30 percent of received calls come from Texas, and Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office estimates that there are 234,000 victims of human trafficking in the state at any time. Also, at least 79,000 of those individuals are believed to be minors.
To combat human trafficking in the Texas, Paxton created the Human Trafficking and Transnational/Organized Crime Section (HTTOC) in 2016, and with the passage of Senate Bill 72, the Human Trafficking Prevention Coordinating Council, which has been ordered to create a strategic plan to prevent and stop human trafficking. The plan is accessible at the Texas Attorney General’s website.
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