Former THP sergeant pleads guilty in human trafficking case

Show Caption Hide Caption Human Trafficking Sen. Bob Corker launches iniatitive to end human hrafficking during an event at Belmont University.

A former Tennessee Highway Patrol sergeant charged with sneaking an illegal immigrant into the United States for sex last year admitted his guilt in the case in federal court Tuesday.

Ronald E. Strickland, 70, pleaded guilty to one count of transporting and harboring an illegal alien during a hearing before federal Judge Sean Cox at the Estes Kefauver Federal Building in downtown Nashville.

According to federal prosecutors, Strickland, who was once honored for his service to the people of Honduras by the Franklin Noon Rotary Club, paid $8,000 to a woman to illegally smuggle a 22-year-old Honduran woman in July 2016 in order to have a sexual relationship with her.

Strickland arrived at the courtroom wearing a gray suit jacket and glasses. The soft-spoken former member of the Tennessee National Guard leaned forward when entering his guilty plea.

Prosecutor Henry Leventis said when Strickland learned the woman arrived in Houston, he drove there to pick her up and transported her back to his home in Franklin, Tenn. after communicating with the woman through the messaging app WhatsApp.

His sentencing is set for Oct. 17.

Under the law, Strickland faces up to five years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.

During a hearing last year, Homeland Security Special Agent Wayne Dickey testified that prior to the woman's arrival Strickland messaged another woman who was "like a pimp" at a Rotary Club in Honduras for at least a year and a half.

Dickey said Strickland talked about at least three women, at times explicitly, seeking a relationship. Strickland's messages said he believed the women owed him something for sending money and one should "surrender herself," according Dickey's testimony.

More: Special agent: Ex-THP sergeant sought Honduran woman for sex

Strickland's daughter, Dara Strickland of St. Louis, testified that she and her father first went to Honduras together 17 years ago on a mission trip. She said her father kept an apartment in Honduras.

In February 2001, The Tennessean featured a story on Strickland and his work in Hondouras. In it, Strickland said he appreciated the country and its people, and felt moved to improve the area in any way.

"Anything I can do to promote upward movement of those people, I will do it," he said at the time.

Prosecutors said the woman in Strickland's case was arrested on immigration charges and also stayed at the apartment. They said Strickland used his role as a leader on mission trips and as a former officer to his personal benefit in Honduras.

Strickland served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining the THP. He retired from the THP in 2002 after serving 26 years with the agency.

Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.