Houston man guilty of trafficking minors in two cities

HOUSTON – A 22-year-old man residing in the Houston and Dallas areas has been convicted of two counts of sex trafficking and one count of enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

A federal jury deliberated for a day and a half before returning the guilty verdict against Cristian Morris following a three-day trial.

From Jan. 1 - June 23, 2023, Morris recruited young teenage girls. He supplied them with drugs, posted sexually explicit advertisements for commercial sex online and forced them to engage in sex acts with clients for money in hotels around the “blade” in Houston and Dallas.

The blade or “track” is an area near I-59 Southwest Freeway and Bissonnet Street in Houston and Harry Hines Boulevard in Dallas where pimps and traffickers commonly place their victims to engage in commercial sex.

During trial, the jury heard from the three victims whom Morris trafficked over the course of several months. They testified he instructed them on how to walk the blade, how much to charge and provided them with condoms. The jury also heard that Morris would transport them between Houston and Dallas to engage in sex acts.

Morris kept all the proceeds.

“What this case demonstrates is that if you pimp, traffic, or exploit either women or children, you will be caught, and you shouldn’t expect anything other than the hardest charges that we can bring,” said Ganjei. “This is a great result for victims and will hopefully serve as a warning to other pimps that you’re not just risking state charges, you’ll also have the feds on you as well.”

Morris was ultimately arrested June 23, 2023, after he had posted commercial sex ads for the youngest victim, a 15-year-old runaway. 

The defense attempted to convince the jury that the victims were just a group of runaways and school drop-outs engaged in bad behavior. They did not believe those claims and found him guilty as charged.

U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett presided over the trial and set sentencing for July 10. At that time, Morris faces up to life in prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

He has been and will remain in custody until the sentencing.

FBI and Houston Police Department (HPD) conducted the investigation as part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA). 

HTRA law enforcement includes members of HPD, FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Texas Attorney General’s Office, IRS Criminal Investigation, Department of Labor (DOL), DOL – Wage and Hour Division, Department of State, Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission, Texas Department of Public Safety, Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General (OIG), Social Security Administration – OIG 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 U.S. 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 Lauren Valenti and Kimberly Leo prosecuted the case.