08-04-2025
Dallas man arrested on human trafficking charges in Midland
MIDLAND COUNTY, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- A Dallas man was arrested and two women rescued after a traffic stop late last week that caused deputies to be suspicious. Damonte Baty, 33, has been charged with human trafficking, a second-degree felony.
According to court records, on April 4, deputies with the Midland County Sheriff's Office responded to a call about a 'rolling disturbance' on Rankin Highway. Deputies conducted a traffic stop and learned that the driver, identified as Baty, was driving without a valid license and Baty was detained as part of the investigation.
During a roadside investigation, deputies searched the car and found condoms as well as 'bulk US currency'. They also found a woman, identified only as Victim #1, with injuries to her arm. The woman told investigators that she'd been forced into prostitution by Baty and that all the money she made went to directly to Baty, so much so that she didn't even have money for food. The woman said she was afraid of Baty and investigators said the 'hostile' nature of their relationship was confirmed in text messages.
While another victim in the car, identified as Victim #2, refused to speak with police, investigators said that Baty admitted that he'd driven the two women to Odessa from Dallas and investigators said that he 'coerced' the women into performing sex acts for money by giving them drugs and threatening them with violence. Investigators also said that Baty claimed he was acting as a pimp only collected a portion of the money, but electronic payments showed that all money from the prostitution went directly to Baty.
Baty was arrested and booked into the Midland County Detention Center where he remained as of Monday afternoon on a $500,000 bond.
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