SAN ANTONIO – Three people are in custody after the FBI busted a sex trafficking ring operating out of a Motel 6 off I-35 and Rittiman Road.
Police discovered the operation on Aug. 28 while tracking down two missing 15-year-old girls.
Police arrested Marcus Wright, 37; Malcolm Copeland, 21; and Amber Doak, 19, on federal sex trafficking charges.
According to an affidavit, one of the 15-year-old girls made an outcry to investigators that she was sexually assaulted and prostituted by one of the suspects.
She also said Wright posted her pictures on Backpage.com, listing her as an escort.
KSAT crime analyst Eddie Gonzales said the use of the internet is what's opening the doors to more predators looking for this type of service.
"The predator, they're always out there," said Gonzales. "They are always looking. But this is a trade that's been around for a long time. I think human trafficking is more of a term more commonly used to describe it, but we've always had runaways."
In addition to this case, there have been several other arrests for sex trafficking in San Antonio in just the last few months, which is why Gonzales says it's good that lawmakers like Sen. John Cornyn are pushing for legislation to fight the problem by adding more resources for law enforcement and by increasing penalties for offenders.
"At times you think that you see people in these groups get busted," said Gonzales. "They go down and you think people would just stop, but there is usually somebody standing in the shadows, very willing to take their place."
Wright, Copeland and Doak are set to go before a federal judge on Wednesday for a bail hearing.
According to the San Antonio Police Department, Copeland and Doak were just arrested in July for prostitution-related charges.
A mugshot for Wright was not immediately available.
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