A Pulaski County man, accused with five other people -- including his twin sister -- of participating in a sex trafficking conspiracy, was allowed to post bail and go free while he awaits trial.
Reggie Harris, 21, was named in a superseding indictment handed up Oct. 6 by a federal grand jury accusing him of two counts each of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and sex trafficking. The superseding indictment also named Shatanna James and Paul Williams, who are accused of two counts of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and one count of extortion, and D'Angelo Willis and Victoriah Cartier, who are accused of two counts of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.
Named in both the original indictment, handed up Nov. 5, 2020, and the superseding indictment is Alexus Harris, 21, of North Little Rock, who is facing charges of sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, and transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.
In allowing Reggie Harris to be released from jail, U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Volpe ordered him to remain on home detention with location monitoring, to have no contact with his co-defendants or with minors, and to have software to monitor his internet activity placed on any devices he might use to access the internet.
Failure to abide by the conditions of his bond, Volpe said, could subject Reggie Harris to being jailed again to await the resolution of his case -- which Volpe said could take as long as three or four years. Also, Volpe said, any subsequent offenses could result in more severe sentencing than that which he faces in the current case, should he be found guilty.
"Bond is not designed to punish you," Volpe said. "It's designed to give you structure while you and your attorney prepare your defense on these very serious charges."
Volpe also told Harris to stay in close contact with his attorney, Jimmy Morris Jr. of Little Rock.
"If you listen to his instructions, you'll have no problem with me," Volpe said.
With the release of Reggie Harris, all defendants in the case except Alexus Harris have been released on bail to await trial. Alexus Harris was ordered to remain in the custody of U.S. marshals by Volpe, who cited the nature and circumstances of the charges against her and her past criminal history in denying her release.
According to a 35-page criminal complaint filed in federal court by the FBI, one of the victims -- a minor -- referred to as "MV1," told police that she had ridden with Alexus Harris and two other women -- one of whom was later identified as Cartier -- to Memphis on Sept. 2 on what she thought was to be a girls' trip. After arriving at a Memphis hotel, however, MV1 told police that Harris told her and the two women that they were there to prostitute for her and forced them to walk the streets for two consecutive days.
At the hotel room when she arrived, MV1 told police, were James and Williams, who were identified to her as Alexus Harris' "security team."
After MV1 refused to prostitute, the complaint said, Harris and the others attempted to extort money from her family and friends, which prompted a family member to call the police.
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During the time she was being held, the complaint said, MV1's friends and family members were subjected to phone calls and video calls from her abductors demanding money while they smothered her with pillows, pistol-whipped her or pointed guns at her head.
The complaint said she was finally freed when her captors left her alone long enough for her to make her way down to the hotel parking lot where she asked a man to take her to a hotel in West Memphis. There, the complaint said, police were called, and MV1 was taken to a Memphis hospital where family members picked her up on Sept. 4.
A second victim, identified as "K.D." in the indictment, was present on the trip to Memphis and told police that she was forced to assault MV1 and to engage in prostitution.
The matter is currently set for trial Jan. 25 before U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker.