Houston Authorities Arrest Alleged Prostitution Ring Kingpin

HOUSTON, TX — He faces life in prison if convicted, a tough sentence. But if Anthony Gardner did what Harris County officials have charged him with, that's the price he could pay.

"Continuous trafficking of persons" is the charge, and the Harris County District Attorney's Office said on Friday that Gardner, 27, is accused of running a prostitution ring involving at least eight women, two of them minors, since November of 2014.

One woman, reported to be 17, had Gardner's street name, Trouble, tattooed on her chest, a sign of his ownership of the woman, according to the DA's office.

According to KTRK, Gardner was arrested on Friday morning at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center when he arrived for a hearing on another charge.

Officials say Gardner forced the women in his ring to earn $1,000 a day; if they failed to do so, he would beat them.

According to court documents, Gardner fathered children with two of the victims.

Prosecutors in the DA's office said this could be the first time the charge of continuous trafficking of persons, which was created by lawmakers in 2011, had been filed in Harris County.

Gardner was also charged with aggravated promotion of prostitution and compelling prostitution.

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