Houston: City has 'more brothels than Starbucks'

The Carriage Way apartment complex, photographed one week after an FBI takedown, was home to a sex trafficking operation by the Southwest Cholos in the Gulfport section of Houston between 2009 and 2017, according to allegations. Twenty-two defendants face federal charges in the ring agents say brought undocumented womenincluding a 14-year-old girl--across the border and forced them to work as prostitutes. The names of their pimps were tattooed on their bodies and their families were threatened with violence if they tried to flee, which several women did, only to be hauled back by the gangs enforcers. Photographed Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, in Houston. (Godofredo A. Vasquez / Houston Chronicle ) less The Carriage Way apartment complex, photographed one week after an FBI takedown, was home to a sex trafficking operation by the Southwest Cholos in the Gulfport section of Houston between 2009 and 2017, ... more Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Houston: City has 'more brothels than Starbucks' 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

For eight years, at least thirteen undocumented women were allegedly trafficked by a family affiliated with the Southwest Cholos gang in a Gulfton-area apartment.

"We have more brothels than we have Starbucks in our city," Robert Sanborn, president and CEO of Children at Risk, told the Houston Chronicle. The demand is so pervasive that at any given moment there are over 400 storefront sex businesses operating in Houston, said Sanborn.

THE NUMBERS: 313,000 Texans are now human-trafficking victims, study says

The Houston Chronicle released an investigative piece about the Carriage Way apartments being the host of the brothel allegedly run by Maris Angelica "Patty" Moreno-Reyna, 51, and her children.

"We're dealing with a group of individuals that branded women like cattle," Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Goldman told the court, adding they engaged in "exceptional violence." The Houston Chronicle reports that many of the trafficked women were lured to the family because of promises of working in the family restaurant that doesn't exist.

Allegedly, after being lured, the undocumented women were often tattooed with the names of their pimps, forced into prostitution to pay off their trafficking payment (a whopping $40,000 per person), and some were forced to get plastic surgery in order to attract more business, the Chronicle reports.

CAPTURED: Massive Houston sex sting, prostitution bust leads to 250+ arrests

The lawyers of the 17 defendants, five of whom still remain as fugitives, stand by their clients as innocents.

"Some of these claims are outrageous," Andrew Williams, the attorney for "Patty," told the Chronicle. "She's a middle-aged woman. She has no power to make anyone do anything. They're making her out to be a kingpin." Ali Fazel, the attorney for Patty's son who is accused of being an enforcer within the brothel, told the Chronicle, "We suspect the government's evidence is contrived."

For over two years, investigators tracked down evidence in this case in Houston, the Rio Grande Valley, Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador.

The Houston Chronicle investigation dives deeper into the stories of the victims and the criminal process the alleged brothel runners are facing. You can read the full investigation here.

Heather Leighton is a digital reporter at Chron.com. She considers herself as a Jack(ie) of all trades and covers various topics from entertainment to politics. You can read more of her stories here and follow her on Twitter at @loveheathernoel.