Man accused of trafficking caught when woman he met on Facebook flees motel, feds say
A 20-year-old woman agreed to travel with a man she met over Facebook and was forced into prostitution, according to court documents.
He’s accused of sex trafficking her for his own “selfish” gain — until she escaped by fleeing a motel room in Louisiana where he beat her in December 2020, court documents show.
Now the man, of Bastrop, Louisiana, is going to prison, federal prosecutors said on June 8.
A judge sentenced Deray Montrez Richard to 19 years in prison after he was accused of human trafficking the 20-year-old and another woman, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana announced in a June 8 news release.
He’s also been ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution, according to prosecutors.
“This is another case of a defendant taking advantage of vulnerable individuals in our society for selfish reasons,” U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown said in a statement.
McClatchy News contacted Richard’s defense attorney for comment on June 9 and didn’t receive an immediate response.
Woman picked up for prostitution
Richard and the woman began messaging each other over Facebook in the fall of 2020, according to prosecutors.
He persuaded her to travel with him and picked her up in Kentucky in December 2020, prosecutors said.
Richard wanted to pick the woman up so she could “prostitute” for him, his plea agreement says. Another woman, a 19-year-old victim, was in the car with him when he did, according to his plea agreement.
Afterward, Richard drove both women to a hotel in Mesquite, Texas, where he forced the 20-year-old to see several “johns” — a person who pays for sex — and engage in prostitution, prosecutors said.
Richard physically assaulted the woman and kept the money she was paid in exchange for sex acts, according to prosecutors.
Richard and the women left Texas and arrived in Bossier City, Louisiana, where they rented two hotel rooms at a Red Roof Inn on Dec. 12, 2020, the plea agreement says.
There, Richard told the 20-year-old to post an online advertisement for sex services, according to the plea agreement.
After she had trouble posting the ad, an argument with Richard ensued and he beat her, the plea agreement says.
The woman would eventually escape him after a second beating the next day, according to prosecutors.
On Dec. 13, 2020, Richard and the two women arrived at a Super 7 motel in Bossier City where he directed them to engage in sex acts with other individuals, the plea agreement says.
At the motel, Richard physically assaulted both women — prompting the 20-year-old to flee the room and report the violence to a motel employee, according to prosecutors.
Then, she raced over to a convenience store across the street and told a store clerk, who ultimately called 911 and said the woman told him a “pimp was beating up her girlfriend,” the plea agreement says.
Bossier City officers arrived and arrested Richard as a result, prosecutors said.
After the FBI began investigating, human trafficking charges were brought against him, according to prosecutors.
Richard has additional charges pending against him, including two counts related to sex trafficking of children, court records show.
Bossier City is just outside of Shreveport and is about 315 miles northwest of New Orleans.
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