Authorities have made multiple arrests in connection with a Philadelphia-based human trafficking ring in which young women dealing with drug addiction are targeted, exploited and repeatedly raped, investigators announced.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced at a news conference Tuesday afternoon that Terrance Jones, 52, ran the operation in which he hired drivers who escorted women to their “rendezvous” with sex buyers. Investigators said Jones’ smuggling ring involved at least 25 people, including his own daughter.

“As all human traffickers do, he dehumanized these young women and used them as commodities to further his trafficking enterprise,” Henry said.

Resources for sexual assault survivors are available through the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and the National Sexual Assault Phone Hotline: 800-656-4673.

Victim speaks to police

The investigation began in June 2021 after a Pennsylvania State Police officer was contacted by an informant who said they were aware of a young woman in South Philadelphia who had left a sober home due to substance abuse and was possibly the victim of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. State troopers later found the woman at a Philadelphia motel and returned her to her sober home at her request. Investigators said the woman was damaged both physically and mentally after using drugs for several days.

The woman told investigators that while she was at the sober house, she searched online and found the phone number for an escort service. After calling the number, he spoke to someone who sounded like a woman and called herself “Julie” or “Julia.” The victim said “Julia” asked her to introduce herself and send a picture. “Julia” then told the victim that a driver would pick her up and take her to various locations to go on “dates” with sex buyers in exchange for money.

After the victim told “Julia” that he was in a recovery home, “Julia” told him that sex buyers would provide him with drugs. The victim was told to pay his driver $125 for each “appointment.” “Julia” also told the victim she could get $200 to $250 per hour from each sex buyer. “Julia” told the victim that sex buyers would call an “agency,” and “Julia” would then give the victim the phone number of the buyer. “Julia” also told the victim to call the recipient from the driver’s phone, whose number was blocked.

The victim told investigators that he went on multiple “dates” over a period of several days while he worked for “Julia” and the “agency.” The victim also told investigators the driver who took him to appointments was named “Tommy.” Investigators later identified the driver as 54-year-old Thomas Reilly, who they described as the sex trafficking organization’s second-in-command.

Investigators alleged Reilly took the victim on at least four “dates” and then took her back to his home where he raped her, telling her he “needed something in return” for letting her stay at his home. Reilly also allegedly sold Xanax and marijuana to the victim. The victim told investigators she felt “trapped” in Reilly’s home and did not hesitate to leave.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced the arrests of multiple people in connection with a sex trafficking ring targeting women struggling with drug addiction in the Philadelphia area. NBC10’s Neil Fischer has the details.

Investigation

The victim’s statements led to a full-scale investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police. According to investigators, they discovered that “Julie” was actually Terrance Jones, who ran the sex trafficking organization from his home in the 800 block of Disston Street in Philadelphia.

Investigators said Jones introduced herself as “Julie” or “Julia” when speaking to potential female victims, and only a few people knew her true identity. Jones has allegedly been operating a sex trafficking ring since at least 2012.

Investigators said Jones advertised multiple phone numbers that potential buyers could call to schedule sex with prostitutes at locations in Philadelphia, surrounding suburbs and New Jersey. Researchers said the numbers are associated with various names such as “Girlfriends,” “Girlfriends GFE” and “GFE Girlfriends,” with “GFE” meaning “Girlfriend Experience.”

“Jones recruited and exploited more than a dozen young women for his sex trafficking organization at locations throughout Philadelphia, its suburbs, and South Jersey,” Henry said.

After being vetted, the buyers gave Jones a phone number, and Jones then directed one of the women to contact the buyer and arrange a time, location and price, according to investigators. Investigators said many of the prostituted women were then taken to their respective locations by drivers including Reilly, James Rudolph, Joseph Franklin and Rhaheem Hill. Many of the women who worked for Jones for a significant amount of time were also allowed to drive their own vehicles to appointments, investigators said. Investigators said most of the money at each appointment was given to drivers and Jones, but some of the money was also given to women based on their relationships with Jones. Jones allegedly received the money through cash deductions and wire transfers.

Jones’ adult daughter, Natoria Jones, knowingly aided her father’s organization by handling many of the electronic payments sent from prostituted women and drivers, authorities said.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Jones was having sex with women in prostitution as part of the “interview process,” according to investigators. Authorities said Jones pretended to be “Julie” and told her victims that she was going to the home of a longtime client who had already paid for their “date” electronically. One of the drivers would then take the woman to Jones’ home. After the “date” was over, Jones would call the victim, pretending to be “Julie,” and ask how things were going, according to investigators. Authorities said Jones stopped having sex with the victims during the outbreak.

Investigators said nearly all of the women in prostitution suffered from varying degrees of substance abuse, which Jones knowingly used. Authorities said Jones’ organization held 83 “trysts” from Jan. 20, 2023, to Feb. 10, 2023, involving 42 sex buyers and 15 different prostitutes.

Arrest of Terrance Jones

Jones was arrested on Friday, October 18, 2024. He is charged with human trafficking, corrupt organizations, criminal conspiracy, forced labor, aggravated assault and other related crimes.

Jones’ bail was set at $2 million. Court documents showing his legal representation were not immediately available online.

According to Henry, police arrested Jones, Reilly, Rudolph, Franklin, Hill and Natoria Jones, as well as 16 people who purchased sex in connection with the trafficking ring.

“The demand for commercial sex encourages and motivates predators like Terrance Jones to exploit women’s bodies for their own greed,” Henry said. “The fact that people who are willing to pay other men – and let’s say it is often the case – men pay other men to use the bodies of young women, defenseless women and girls for their own benefit, is what gives rise to humanitarian crime. smuggling. In this case, we made a point of charging buyers because we need to reduce demand to end human trafficking. “One way to do this is to deter potential buyers from participating in this illegal activity.”

Anyone who may be a victim of Jones or any sex trafficking organization can contact the Pennsylvania State Police hotline at 215-452-5239. They can also contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

The ongoing sex trafficking problem

Nearly 17,000 victims were identified nationwide last year, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. But this number is only a small fraction of how many victims there actually were.

“The word I would use is pervasive. It’s in every neighborhood. It’s happening in Philadelphia County. It’s happening in Montgomery County, Bucks County, Delaware County. It’s happening everywhere,” Sister Meaghan Patterson said.

Sister Meaghan Patterson knows the reality of sex trafficking. He is the general manager of the company Dawn’s Place, a shelter for sex trafficking victims in Philadelphia.

“There’s a statistic that says about 1 percent of people who are trafficked go out and get services, which is tragic considering it’s a $150 billion industry and yet there are so many men, women and children suffering from this condition,” Patterson said. “This is a terrible crime against human rights.”

Ann Marie Jones knows firsthand what it’s like to be a victim of human trafficking. She spent 14 years as a victim of human trafficking and shared some of her experiences and how she escaped it.

“It was beyond a nightmare. I can’t even explain what it was like to live there, to be kept under control all the time, to be beaten, to have nothing, to live in abandoned houses with rats and God knows what else is out there. I love you,” Jones recounted. “I was so manipulated and blinded by everything he told me. If he told me the sky was purple, I would believe it was purple because I trusted him.”

It took a while for Jones to get completely off the streets, but he eventually did and got help.

“I was hurt when I got pregnant from him and I remember sitting behind an abandoned house crying and praying and praying for God to get me out of this. Something picked me up and I ran to the hospital and told them I was pregnant and she needed help,” Jones shared.

Jones wants victims of sex trafficking to know that people are available and ready to help in places like churches, hospitals or shelters.

Pennsylvania’s attorney general announced that a years-long investigation brought down a sex trafficking ring in Philadelphia. NBC10’s Johnny Archer spoke with the executive director of Dawn’s Place, a shelter for sex trafficking victims and survivors, to shed light on how big of a problem this really is.

Department of Human Services’ Blue Campaign There is a list of signs of human trafficking that people can look for:

• Does the person have bruises in various stages of healing?
• Is the person fearful, timid, or submissive?
• Is the person often around someone they respect? Or is he someone who has the situation under control?
• Does the person seem trained on what to say?

If you believe you OR someone is a victim of human trafficking, you can call the human trafficking hotline at 888-373-7888 to get immediate assistance.