UPDATE: Three more people have been arrested in a human trafficking case in Calcasieu Parish.
After further investigation detectives were able to identify three more men with whom the 14-year-old victim was forced to have sex.
Between June 19 and 20, Jason D. Bryant, 19, Tyler D. Lawson, 26, and Kelly Johnson, Jr., 27, all of Lake Charles were arrested and booked into the Calcasieu Parish Jail.
Bryant and Lawson are charged with felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile; and Johnson is charged with first degree rape.
Judge Guy Bradberry set Bryant’s bond at $1.5 million; Lawson’s bond at $250,000; and Johnson’s bond at $2 million.
The investigation in continuing and more arrests and charges are possible
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LAKE CHARLES, La. – Several arrests were made in Calcasieu Parish in a human trafficking case.
Courtesy CPSO
On March 21, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives were dispatched to a motel on North Martin Luther King Highway in Lake Charles in reference to a possible location of a 14-year-old girl who had been reported as a runaway, according to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office.
When detectives arrived at the motel they located the girl in a room, along with Mariah C. Miller, 24, of Iowa.
During the investigation and after interviewing the girl, detectives learned she has been a victim of sex trafficking since January 2019, the spokesperson stated.
Courtesy CPSO
The victim advised detectives she had allegedly been beaten and forced to have sex with numerous men. During further investigation, detectives learned Miller, along with an acquaintance of the victim, Kaleb A. Citizen, 21, of Lake Charles and Darius P. Landry, 28, of Lake Charles, who was the victim’s guardian and family member, were responsible for trafficking the girl.
Detectives were also able to identify one of the men, Antonio D. Tompkins, 25, of Lake Charles, with whom she was forced to have sex, according to deputies.
Courtesy CPSO
Between June 10 and 13, Judge Guy Bradberry signed warrants for the arrest of all four suspects. Miller, Citizen, and Tompkins; were all incarcerated at the Calcasieu Parish Jail on unrelated charges.
Miller was arrested on a charge of human trafficking with a bond of $250,000.
Citizen was arrested on a charges of human trafficking, first degree rape and felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile with a bond of $2 million.
Tompkins was arrested on a charge of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile with a bond of $250,000.
Courtesy CPSO
Landry was arrested on June 17 and booked into the Calcasieu Parish Jail on a charge of trafficking of juveniles for sexual purposes with a bond of $250,000.
The investigation in continuing and more arrests and charges are likely, the spokesperson stated.
Detectives also have reason to believe there may be more juvenile victims, so if anyone has any additional information on this case or these suspects, call the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office at (337) 491-3605.
Detectives Seth Abshire and Michael G. Miller are the lead investigators on this case.
