WACO, Texas — The State of Texas is cracking down on human trafficking, especially in cosmetology businesses.
As of January 1, all salons and massage parlors across the state must have updated signage in their businesses with information and resources for human trafficking victims. This requirement was put into place by the 87th Texas Legislature in 2021. You can see the sign here.
The McLennan County Sheriff's Office Human Trafficking Unit is also tracking cases and trying to close them, and they're willing to go the distance to make it happen.
"Anytime we get a case that starts here and spills over into another case, we go wherever that case takes us," McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said.
Several employee's of the sheriff's office, including Detective Joseph Scaramucci, are federally commissioned giving them the authority to pursue cases outside the county lines.
McNamara, Scaramucci and other MCSO employees shared details of two arrests made connected to massage parlors and or massage therapists Tuesday afternoon.
Scaramucci says one California man has been arrested and charged with aggravated promotion of prostitution. He is accused of promoting at least 21 illicit massage parlors all across the US, including in McLennan County.
"He initially came on our radar because he was promoting different massage businesses," he explained. "When we started trailing different sex ads, they all were coming back to him."
Scaramucci says the McLennan County massage parlors have been shutdown by the MCSO awhile ago.
To catch him, they had to go to California and work with authorities there. MCSO authorities had to send case reports to California authorities and have them vet them for the California statutes and also obtain California search warrants. He will be extradited back to McLennan County.
"The beauty of being able to work with them is that it really helps us build out our cases even stronger," Scaramucci explained.
The other man arrested, from Dallas, was charged with solicitation of prostitution after authorities say he was seeking sexual acts from licensed massage therapists in Waco.
Scaramucci and the MCSO credit technology for bringing criminals forward...
"The beauty of the internet is that once that crumb is left, it's always going to be there," Scaramucci added.
McNamara also gives kudos to the Human Trafficking unit as they are willing to go the distance, and continually work, to stop the crimes.
Any texans who may be concerned about human trafficking can report concerns directly to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for them to investigate. You can do that here.
You can also call your local law enforcement.
To report suspected human trafficking, contact the National Hotline for Human Trafficking at 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP or INFO to BeFree (233733).
If the situation is an emergency or you believe someone is in immediate danger, call 911 and alert the authorities.
MCSO also shared details about another arrest they made recently where a California man was charged for online solicitation of a minor. Authorities say it involved a 14-year-old from McLennan County and the man used social media to attempt to exploit the minor. He will eventually be extradited to McLennan County, too.
Due to the nature of these arrests, no names or images will be released at this time.
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