DALLAS — Eight people have been federally indicted in connection with an alleged sex trafficking and money laundering operation run through an adult bookstore on Harry Hines Boulevard, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
A federal grand jury returned the indictment July 22. Six defendants were arrested July 24 and remained in federal custody as of Tuesday. Investigators also recovered 21 firearms during the investigation.
All eight defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.
Several also face charges involving sex trafficking through force, fraud or coercion, trafficking of minors, money laundering and unlawful firearm possession.
The defendants are:
- Aaron Tyrone Betford, 43
- Montre Lamont Mason, 51
- Eileen Mason, 52
- Trelynn Love Mason, 24
- Larry Jones, 51
- Krishenda Doss, 37
- Reginald Rose, 38
- Antonio Dario Osorio-Avelar, 23
Federal prosecutors allege the yearslong operation was based at the Paris Adult Bookstore, a sexually oriented business located in an area of Harry Hines Boulevard known for commercial sex activity.
According to the indictment, the business sold adult merchandise and operated 40 private arcade rooms where customers could pay to view pornographic material.
Prosecutors allege employees also rented the rooms for short periods to women and customers engaging in commercial sex acts.
Women allegedly paid cash to bookstore employees in exchange for condoms, personal wipes and access to the rooms. Some returned several times during a single shift with different customers, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors allege six bookstore employees and two traffickers participated in the conspiracy.
The traffickers are accused of forcing or coercing women and minors into commercial sex and using the bookstore’s rooms to complete transactions.
The indictment states that some women entered the business with visible injuries, including bruises, black eyes, stab wounds and road rash. Some allegedly told employees that traffickers had assaulted them.
Despite those warning signs, prosecutors allege bookstore workers continued allowing the women and their traffickers to use the property and financially benefited from the activity.
The indictment also accuses the defendants of laundering money generated through the alleged operation.
Prosecutors said some of the proceeds were used to hire security workers who controlled activity in the parking lot, escorted people to the arcade rooms and warned others about law enforcement activity or disturbances.
The investigation also examined interactions between bookstore employees and alleged traffickers who entered the business to buy merchandise, locate women or discuss their continued access to the property.
The indictment references the August 2024 kidnapping and killing of a woman who had solicited customers in the bookstore’s parking lot.
Prosecutors said the woman was taken from the property and killed by Naasson Haazzard. Haazzard is not listed among the eight defendants charged in the new indictment.
Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation through the North Texas Trafficking Task Force.
“This investigation reflects what is possible when investigators, prosecutors and our law enforcement partners work together toward a common goal,” Dallas Police Chief Daniel C. Comeaux said. “We are committed to protecting our neighborhoods, enforcing the law fairly and pursuing those who engage in organized criminal activity.”
Comeaux said the indictment marked an important milestone, but the judicial process must now take its course.
“We remain committed to seeing this case through,” he said.
Several of the defendants could face up to life in federal prison if convicted.
About the Author
