Officials on Tuesday announced eight indictments \u2014 against six men and two women \u2014 in connection with an ongoing investigation at an adult novelty store in northwest Dallas.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould said during a news conference that six individuals had worked at Paris Adult Book Store<\/a> at 11118 Harry Hines Blvd. between 2018 and 2025 and were arrested on Friday.\u00a0The other two allegedly used Paris\u2019s parking lot and back rooms for sex trafficking adults and minors<\/a>.<\/p>\n The charges listed in the indictment include sex trafficking through force, fraud and coercion, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Raybould said 21 firearms were confiscated from the individuals throughout the investigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor more than two decades, the Paris Adult Book Store allegedly operated under the guise of a legitimate business while functioning as an illicit brothel,\u201d said Travis Pickard, special agent in charge of Dallas\u2019s Homeland Security\u00a0Investigations office. \u201cBehind its doors, investigators uncovered an enterprise where human beings were being treated as commodities.\u201d<\/p>\n The law enforcement operation, dubbed Midnights at Paris, was conducted by the Dallas Police Department,\u00a0Texas\u2019 IRS Criminal Investigation office and homeland security officials. The attorney\u2019s office prosecuted the indicted individuals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis case really demonstrates what happens when we all work together,\u201d Raybould said. \u201cNo single agency can dismantle a criminal enterprise alone.\u201d<\/p>\n In February, Dallas police extended Project Safe Neighborhoods<\/a> to its Northwest Patrol Division to help enforce drug and sex crime laws. The store was closed less than two\u00a0weeks later for a \u201ccoordinated enforcement activity<\/a>\u201d along with another business police believe was related to prostitution and narcotics sales.<\/p>\n