Texas Man Draws 55-Year Prison Term On Sex Trafficking Charges

AUSTIN, TEXAS — A jury on Friday sentenced a Bexar County man to a 55-year prison term on the charge of continuous sex trafficking of a teenager and another woman.

The long prison term was a victory not only for the victims and their families, but for the office of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office that prosecuted the case for the Bexar County District Attorney's Office. The jury found Steven Charles Sumlin, 41, of Converse, Texas, guilty of the first-degree felony involving a 16-year-old and a 22-year-old woman, Paxton said in a press advisory.

Section Chief Kirsta Melton and Assistant Attorney General Mallory Vincent with the attorney general’s Human Trafficking and Transnational Organized Crime section prosecuted the case for the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office.

“There is no place for sex trafficking in Texas,” Paxton said in a prepared statement. “Those who take advantage of vulnerable citizens will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I am grateful to our office’s prosecutors, the Bexar County DA’s office, local law enforcement and involved citizens for their efforts on this case. Thankfully, a dangerous criminal has been brought to justice.”

Last year, Sumlin was with his underage victim at a San Antonio gym when alert employees recognized her from a missing person poster and called police, Paxton reminded. During Sumlin’s trial, evidence showed that he recruited the girl online after she ran away from home, sexually assaulted her, and coerced her into sex trafficking, the AG added.

In 2015, Paxton noted, Sumlin was arrested for aggravated promotion of prostitution as the head of a prostitution ring that was operating in San Antonio, Austin and Dallas.

In his press advisory, Paxton reiterated a commitment to combating human trafficking as a top priority of his office. He cited other recent examples of this crime-fighting focus:

• Two years ago, he launched his office’s Human Trafficking and Transnational/Organized Crime section, which prosecutes human traffickers across the state.
• In January, Paxton unveiled a powerful training video to teach Texans how to spot and report suspected human trafficking activity. “Be the One in the Fight Against Human Trafficking” is available for viewing online at https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/human-trafficking.
• In April, the section’s prosecution of Backpage.com resulted in the company pleading guilty to human trafficking in Texas and its CEO, Carl Ferrer, pleading guilty to money laundering. The attorney general’s office also assisted the U.S. Department of Justice with permanently shutting down the website, which was considered the largest online sex trafficking marketplace in the world.

Related story: Backpage.com CEO Arrested In Texas Airport On Orders Of Attorney General

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>>> Steven Charles Sumlin booking photo via San Antonio Police Department