A 30-year-old Weatherford man is now in custody after allegedly soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Anthony Eric King was arrested on Wednesday, though it is unclear by which law enforcement agency.
Busted Newspaper had King booked in Parker County, but jail records show that the Parker County Sheriff’s Department released him to the custody of Tarrant County authorities on Thursday.
King has been charged with solicitation of a minor and possession or promotion of child pornography.
The Dallas Express has been putting a spotlight on would-be purchasers of sex in the greater DFW area to raise awareness about the pervasiveness of the sex trafficking industry in North Texas.
As previously reported by DX, parts of northwestern Dallas have seemingly been surrendered to the illegal sex trade, with open-air prostitution causing frustration among residents and business owners in Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6.
According to the City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard, virtually every criminal offense related to sex trafficking or prostitution in Dallas proper this year has been reported in District 6.
Of the 281 prostitution offenses committed this year, 217 were committed in District 6. Some 66 sex trafficking crimes were logged in this time as well, with 43 clocked in Narvaez’s district.
The Dallas Police Department has been having a tough time keeping a lid on the illegal sex trade amid a chronic staffing shortage. DPD only has around 3,000 officers on the street, in spite of a prior City analysis that advised roughly 4,000 were necessary to maintain public safety in a jurisdiction the size of Dallas.
Dallas City Council members have also been short-changing the department, budgeting only $654 for DPD this fiscal year. This is much less than officials are spending on public safety in other high-crime cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
