Bissonnet Man, Sentenced To Prison, Forcing Young Girls Into Sex Acts
Monday, September 30, 2024, 5:00 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
HOUSTON, TX.- On Friday, September 27, 2024, Michael Anthony Gonzalez, also known as “Mumbles,” 27, of Houston, Texas, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and was sentenced for the Sex Trafficking of a young woman. Gonzalez had previously appeared in U.S. District Court and pleaded guilty to the charge.
In court, U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks, Jr., sentenced Gonzalez to 240 months in federal prison, followed by ten years of supervised release, upon the completion of his custodial term. In handing down the sentence, Judge Hanks noted the things that Gonzalez had done, the attitudes he displayed, and the people he had hurt. Judge Hanks further ordered Gonzalez to register as a sex offender upon his release from federal prison.
According To Documents Filed With The Court
According to documents filed with the court, and statements made at sentencing. From April 2019 through February 2020, Gonzalez and his co-conspirators worked to recruit young teenage girls and force them to engage in sex acts with clients for money, in cars, and in hotels around the Bissonnet “Blade.”
The Bissonnet Blade
The Bissonnet Blade or “Track” is an area near Interstate Route 59 Southwest Freeway and Bissonnet Street in Houston, Texas, where pimps and traffickers routinely place their victims to engage in the commercial sex trade.
The co-conspirators passed around or resigned the young female victims amongst one another and taught each other “The Pimp Game” and forced the young girls to walk the Blade while they kept all the proceeds.
To switch between pimps, the young girls had to pay an exit fee or get a “Beat Out.” Some sex traffickers required daily quotas each night from their victims. If the victims failed to meet their daily quotas, they were severely punished through beatings and humiliation.
Gonzalez’s co-conspirators, Jerreck Michael Hillard, also known as “J money,” 35, and Javon Taw Opoku, also known as “Glizzy,” 23, were previously sentenced to 292 months and 365 months in federal prison, respectively, for their roles in the sex trafficking conspiracy.
