CALCASIEU PARISH, La. — A man from Houston was arrested Friday and charged along with seven other people who investigators say were involved in sex trafficking a 14-year-old girl earlier this year.
Mayur Patel, 39, of Houston, charged with human trafficking and felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office said in a news release. He managed the hotel where the girl was found, was involved in trafficking her, and had sex with her, investigators said.
Judge Michael Canaday signed a warrant for his arrest July 19. The warrant specified he would be held with no bond. He was found in Houston July 26 and extradited to the Calcasieu Correctional Center.
Most of the other men involved were arrested in June. Investigators found the girl back in March. Several other people have already been charged in this case.
Previous story from June 18, 2019 | Woman, three men charged in Calcasieu Parish human trafficking case
Previous story from June 21, 2019 | Three more men arrested in human trafficking case of 14-year-old Calcasieu Parish girl
Seven arrested in human trafficking case of 14-year-old Calcasieu Parish girl
Detectives found the 14-year-old girl, a reported runaway, at a motel on North Martin Luther King Highway in Lake Charles on March 21. The girl told police she had been sex trafficked since January, and had been beaten and forced to have sex with numerous men.
Mariah Miller, 24, of Iowa, La., was found in the hotel with the girl. She told detectives that and Kaleb Citizen, 21, of Lake Charles, La., and Darius Landry, 28, of Lake Charles, La., and Miller were involved in the trafficking. Landry was the victim's guardian and a family member, according to investigators.
Miller and Citizen were booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center on unrelated charges. Miller was charged with human trafficking, with a bond of $250,000. Citizen was charged with human trafficking, first degree rape and felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile. His bonds total $2 million. Landry was arrested June 17 and booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center and charged with trafficking juveniles for sexual purposes with a bond of $250,000.
Detectives also found the girl was forced to have sex with four men who lived in Lake Charles.
Antonio Tompkins, 25, Jason Bryant, 19, Tyler Lawson, 26, and Kelly Johnson, Jr., 27, all face charges related to the trafficking case.
Tompkins was already incarcerated at the Calcasieu Correctional Center on other charges, investigators said. The other three men were arrested and booked into the jail between June 19 and June 20. Tompkins, Bryant and Lawson all face charges of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile, the sheriff's office said. Johnson is charged with first degree rape. Judge Guy Bradberry set Tompkins’ and Lawson’s bonds at $250,000, Bryant’s bond at $1.5 million and Johnson’s bond at $2 million.
The investigation is still ongoing, the sheriff's office said. More arrests and charges in the case are possible.
