Houston Republic

A Houston resident has been sentenced for sex trafficking of a young woman, according to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Michael Anthony Gonzalez, also known as Mumbles, pleaded guilty on June 27. U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr. ordered Gonzalez to serve 240 months in federal prison. The court noted the actions and attitudes of Gonzalez and the harm he caused while delivering the sentence.

Gonzalez will also serve 10 years on supervised release after his prison term, during which he must comply with various requirements designed to limit his access to children and the internet. Additionally, he will be required to register as a sex offender.

From April 2019 to February 2020, Gonzalez and his co-conspirators recruited young teenage girls and forced them into sex acts with clients for money in cars and hotels around the Bissonnet "blade." This area near I-59 Southwest Freeway and Bissonnet Street in Houston is known for commercial sex activities involving pimps and traffickers.

The co-conspirators exchanged victims among themselves, taught each other "the pimp game," and forced young girls to work while keeping the proceeds. To switch between pimps, the girls had to pay an exit fee or face beatings. Some traffickers imposed daily quotas on their victims, punishing them severely if they failed to meet these quotas.

Jerreck Michael Hilliard (Jmoney), 35, and Javon Yaw Opoku (Glizzy), 23, were previously sentenced to 292 and 365 months in prison respectively for their roles in the conspiracy.

The investigation was initiated by the Houston Police Department with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office as part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA). Established in 2004 by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Houston, HTRA combines resources from federal, state, and local enforcement agencies along with non-governmental service organizations to target human traffickers while providing services to victims. HTRA has been recognized nationally and internationally for its work in identifying victims of human trafficking and prosecuting offenders.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kate Suh and Anthony Franklyn prosecuted the case.