HOUSTON — The search is on for a notorious 'Bissonnet Track' pimp who has been sentenced to 75 years in prison for human trafficking.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office said Thaddeus Allen, 34, had been showing up to court for his trial that began on April 10, but he failed to appear Monday during closing arguments.
Though he wasn't present, a jury found him guilty of human trafficking and handed down the 75-year prison sentence.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Allen. When caught, he will have to serve at least half of the sentence before he is eligible for parole, the DA's office said.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, along with Houston police and community groups, have been putting to place many different tactics to reduce prostitution along the "Bissonnet Track." One of those tactics is blocking off side streets that lead to Bissonnet. Those streets are blocked off at 10 p.m. and reopen at daylight.
Ogg said they are also going after the pimps, who she's called "parasites."
“For decades, we’ve focused on the sex workers, and more recently, we’ve focused on the sex buyers,” Ogg said. “But if you really want to hurt the criminal element, you go after the money and the people who are making it, those are the pimps and the traffickers.”
Council member Edward Pollard and nearby business owners said the efforts being done are already working.
"It's amazing," Pollard said. "This is an issue that for many years, people said no one could solve."
There's a big reward for information that will lead to the capture and arrest of Allen, who the DA's office calls “one of the Track's worst fugitive pimps.”
“We’re giving you 15,000 good reasons for any information leading up to the arrest of this career, habitual, violent felon who frankly should’ve never been out on bond and he’s now a convicted human trafficker,” Andy Kahan, with Crime Stoppers of Houston, said
Allen also has pending charges for aggravated promotion of prostitution involving multiple women, prosecutors say.