Overview
- Federal grand jury indictments announced Tuesday charged eight employees of the Paris Adult Book Store with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and related federal offenses.
- Investigators say the licensed storefront masked locked hallways and rentable private rooms in the back that were used to facilitate commercial sex and to control victims.
- Some defendants face additional counts including sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, sex trafficking of a minor, and conspiracy to launder money, and authorities say six people were arrested July 24 during the operation.
- Homeland Security Investigations led Operation Midnight at Paris over three years with IRS Criminal Investigation and Dallas police to trace payments disguised through a point‑of‑sale system and to document cash being commingled with legitimate receipts.
- Officials identified dozens of victims, tied the case to a 2024 abduction and murder linked to the business, said the store has been closed, and warned that closing one venue can shift trafficking unless enforcement and survivor services continue.