A Dallas, Texas woman pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.
According to court documents, in or around April 2022, Patricia Hart, 24, and her boyfriend, Gregory Massey, were arrested in New Orleans. While Massey was in custody, Hart conspired with Massey on recorded jail calls to engage in sex trafficking, including by locking one victim outside, hitting her, withholding her identity documents, and scaring her with a firearm.
Hart was originally caught in a Louisiana State Police Special Victims Unit sting operation. The arrest came after an undercover officer responded to an online post offering illicit sexual services.
According to court documents, the undercover officer placed a call and exchanged text messages with a phone number listed in the online advertisement. Subsequently, a meeting was arranged at a hotel located in the Central Business District. The woman who answered the phone arrived at the hotel as a passenger in an SUV bearing a Texas license plate. The vehicle was rented by one of the suspects, identified as Hart, and driven by another suspect, Massey. Upon arrival, the woman, whose identity remains undisclosed, met the undercover officer in the hotel lobby. They reportedly agreed upon a sum of $220 for sexual services, as documented by the police. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that two more women were present in the SUV. One of them, who claimed to have recently turned 18, disclosed that she was the mother of a 6-month-old child residing in Dallas, Texas, while she accompanied the suspects to New Orleans.
Hart is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 7 and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. As a result of her plea, Hart must also participate in the sex offender registration and notification program. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
