Fort Hood soldiers arrested in child prostitution sting in Texas town next to Army base
Each allegedly reached out to detectives posing as girls aged 15 and 16
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Three soldiers were arrested last weekend in a child prostitution sting conducted in the Texas town adjacent to the Fort Hood Army post, after they showed up to a location to meet underage girls for sex, police said.
Spc. Anthony Xavier Antwon, 25, and Pfc. Timmy Jones Jr., 30, each face a felony charge of prostitution under the age of 18, the Killeen Police Department said.
Staff Sgt. Pierre Jean, 32, received a Class A misdemeanor charge for prostitution.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Antwon and Jones are stationed at Fort Hood. They are each being held at the Bell County Jail on a $50,000 bond. Jean, a combat medic and Killeen resident, is assigned to the Army Medical Center of Excellence at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston about 140 miles away, Stars and Stripes reported.
The three soldiers were among nine total suspects arrested in the two-day sting conducted by the Killeen Police Department Special Victim’s Unit in partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety Human Trafficking Program, KXXV reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fort Hood soldiers Anthony Xavier Antwon (left) and Timmy Jones Jr. (right) are being held each on a $50,000 bond. (Bell County Jail)
Each allegedly reached out on social media to detectives posing as girls aged 15 and 16. Police said the men made plans to meet the girls for sexual acts in exchange for money, drugs and alcohol.
The six others charged in the sting are: Javier Perez, 40, of Austin; Brian Harley Flynn, 21, of Temple; Brandon Anthony Lee, 25, of Killeen; Dustin Edward Johnson, 42, of Lott; Shaun Paul Moore, 39, of Kempner; and Rakeem Jamal Nelson, 28, of Killeen.
Fort Hood has been thrust into the national spotlight after the murder and dismemberment of 20-year-old soldier Vanessa Guillen allegedly by a fellow soldier. She was reported missing at the base in April and her remains were not found and identified until late June.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An independent panel is expected to arrive at Fort Hood this month to investigate the “command climate of the installation" around the time of Guillen’s murder and to determine if there is a “sexual harassment-type toxic environment that exists.”
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The Army said in a statement Friday that it would delay plans to transfer the Fort Hood commander until the panel decides whether leadership failures contributed to Guillen’s murder and hindered the investigation into her disappearance, and who should be held accountable. Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, commander of Fort Hood, Texas, was slated to go to Fort Bliss, which is near El Paso, and take over leadership of the 1st Armored Division, but instead will remain at Fort Hood.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.