Registered Sex Offender Sent to Prison for Trafficking Again

HOUSTON – A 45-year-old Houston man has been ordered to prison following his second conviction related to sex trafficking of minors, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.  

Ronnie Presley, originally from Wichita, Kansas, pleaded guilty March 14, 2019.

Today, U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett considered Presley’s criminal history, his actions as they related to the exploitation of the minor victim as well as his personal history. The court then imposed a 270-month sentence to be followed by 20 years of supervised release. He will again be ordered to register as a sex offender.  

In handing down the lengthy sentence, Judge Bennett noted that while Presley did not perpetrate acts of violence upon the minor victim, her sexual exploitation constituted repeated acts of violence. The court commented that this victim is somebody’s daughter, sister and granddaughter and should not have been caused to engage in commercial sex for anyone’s benefit.

Presley was previously convicted Oct. 4, 2012, of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, coercion and enticement, and transportation as part of Operation Total Exposure. He was later sentenced to 96 months in prison.

While on supervised release for those offenses, a federal grand jury indicted him in 2017 for similar offenses. Once released from prison for the 2012 conviction, Presley had violated his supervised release and was sentenced to 11 months imprisonment.

While serving that sentence, Presley continued to cause a minor female to engage in commercial sex. Via jail calls and communications with third parties, Presley continued to control the minor victim. In one particular instance, the minor went to the detention facility where Presley was incarcerated and added money to his commissary account. 

Presley has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI led the investigation as part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA).

HTRA law enforcement includes members of the Houston Police Department, FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Texas Attorney General’s Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Department of Labor, Department of State, Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission, Texas Department of Public Safety, Coast Guard and sheriff’s offices in Harris and Montgomery counties in coordination with District Attorney’s offices in Harris, Montgomery and Fort Bend Counties.

Established in 2004, the United States Attorney’s office in Houston formed HTRA to combine resources with federal, state and local enforcement agencies and prosecutors, as well as non-governmental service organizations to target human traffickers while providing necessary services to those that the traffickers victimized. Since its inception, HTRA has been recognized as both a national and international model in identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and prosecuting those engaged in trafficking offenses.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sherri L. Zack and Kimberly A. Leo prosecuted the case.