Indictment Unsealed Charging El Paso County Juvenile Probation Officer with Federal Sex Trafficking Charges

In El Paso, federal authorities have arrested a juvenile probation officer indicted on federal sex trafficking charges, announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Dennis Ulrich, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Douglas E. Lindquist, El Paso Division.

On Friday, authorities arrested El Paso County juvenile probation officer 28–year-old Timothy McCullouch, Jr. without incident. McCullouch is charged in a superseding federal grand jury indictment, returned on Wednesday (January 15, 2014) and unsealed following his arrest, with one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of persons and one substantive count of sex trafficking of a minor. McCullouch remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on January 24, 2014, before United States Magistrate Judge Anne T. Burton. He faces up to life in federal prison upon conviction.

In addition to McCullouch, the indictment charges five El Paso gang members for their roles in the sex trafficking scheme including: 25-year-old Deion Lockhart, 21-year-old Brandon Shapiro, 20-year-old Tai Von Lynch, 24-year-old Richard Gray, and 23–year-old Emmanual Lockhart. All five remain in custody pending trial scheduled for June 6, 2014, before United States District Judge Philip Martinez. Upon conviction, each defendant faces up to life in federal prison.

Court records allege that the defendants have been involved in the forced prostitution of juveniles and adults by the Folk Nation/Gangster Disciples street gang between May 2012 and March 2013. The defendants used a combination of force, fraud, and coercion to compel their victims to engage in sexual activities for money in El Paso; Killeen, Texas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Las Vegas, Nevada; and in Colorado.

This investigation, conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); and the El Paso Police Department Gang Unit, also resulted in a separate but related, indictment. Folk Nation/Gangster Disciples members Kiry Hakeem Nalls, age 24, and Grant Rutledge, age 24, were indicted in July of last year on forced prostitution charges. Nalls and Rutlege also face up to life imprisonment upon conviction. Their trial is currently set for March 3, 2014, before Judge Martinez.

An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Assistant United States Attorneys Rifian Newaz and Robert Almonte are prosecuting these cases on behalf of the government.