Authorities arrest 44 in investigation of prostitution ring in Harris County Constable: Crime drives demand for human trafficking

An operation by undercover police ended with 44 people being charged in connection with a street-level prostitution ring in north Harris County.

The two-week operation brings the number of prostitution-related arrests in the county to nearly 300 since mid-August, a number that law enforcement officials have said is due to a new focus to stymie demand for prostitution in the region.

Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman heralded his office's work to deter crimes that he said are often connected to prostitution.

"Street-level prostitution is the driving force behind much of the demand for human trafficking," Herman said at a news conference Thursday. "This operation we feel may have rescued potential victims from the streets and prevented other crimes in Precinct 4."

The operation began after police said they received numerous complaints from residents and business owners in the area of FM 1960 and Interstate 45.

Four of the 44 people arrested claimed they were victims of human trafficking, and five were identified as pimps. One of the alleged pimps had a 2-year-old child and a stolen handgun in his car while he delivered a prostitute, police said.

The arrests follow multiple other crackdowns by police in Houston and Harris County this summer.

In mid-August, more than 250 people were arrested in a massive, weeks-long sting as part of the national, annual "National Johns Suppression Initiative" that this year included 37 law enforcement agencies in 17 states.

Another 138 were arrested in a similar sting last year.

While Herman could not say definitively Thursday if prostitution crimes were up or down in recent years, he noted that the department and other agencies have changed their approach to handling prostitution, opting to try to stymie smaller, street-level rings that can often include women forced into the trade.