“In their mind, these women, or these sex workers, are used to the treatment so I can get away with it,” Turner said is the mindset of those who prey on sex workers. “Not only are they denied food or water, but worse, they can be brutally beaten,” said Turner.īoth Turner and Aluotto said this is why many predators target prostitutes. Wendi Turner with Hope over Hurt, an outreach organization combating human trafficking, said many prostitutes also don’t report attacks for fear of what their pimps will do. “You put yourself in a more vulnerable position for law enforcement to ask you more questions about what you’re doing,” said Aluotto. She said many sex workers are forced to walk the streets and are frequent targets for violence, but rarely report attacks.
“You are exposed to people who are looking to purchase you and thinking they can do whatever they want with you because they bought you,” said Jacquelyn Aluotto, co-founder and president of No Trafficking Zone.Īlutto’s organization works to disrupt and dismantle trafficking hot spots through legislation and education. DPS agents wrote a gun matching the description of the weapon used in the sexual assaults was found in Ferguson’s truck. Court documents show two more counts of aggravated sexual assault were filed after lab tests determined Ferguson’s DNA was a possible match to the third woman.Ī search warrant filed at the end of June 2023 sought another sample of Ferguson’s DNA for more testing. Ferguson was originally charged with four counts of aggravated sexual assault in 2022 after two women identified Ferguson in a photo lineup. DPS agents write that woman also said she was raped at gunpoint by a man matching Ferguson’s description. One woman was able to get the license plate number of the truck, which initially led agents to Ferguson.Ĭourt records read agents learned of a third attack happening off the Gulf Freeway at Bellfort. Court records read Ferguson is accused of picking up the women in his truck and raping them at gunpoint. Investigators said the women were working as prostitutes and Ferguson first approached them pretending to be a customer.ĭPS agents wrote two of the women worked along the so-called “Bissonnet Track” between the Southwest Freeway and Beltway 8. Mark Monroe Ferguson, 40, is now facing six counts of aggravated sexual assault stemming from an investigation into attacks on three women.Ĭourt documents read the attacks happened in 2022 and are being investigated by special agents with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Human Trafficking division in Houston.
A man jailed in 2022 on charges of sexual assault and family violence is facing new charges.
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