{"id":278597,"date":"2026-05-04T20:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/278597\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T20:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:17:09","slug":"dps-arrests-eleven-during-human-trafficking-operation-in-bell-county-central-texas-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/278597\/","title":{"rendered":"DPS Arrests Eleven During Human Trafficking Operation in Bell County (Central Texas Region)"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n(Pictured above left to right, top to bottom: Hae-Yong Pae; Xavier Alexander Barreto; Ryan Lee Howard;Joseph Andrew Paine; Christopher Matias; Samsus Moise Perfection St. Loth; Omar Katrell Cherry;Ramon Antonio Rivera-Colon; Dwayne Dion Sherman; Shaun Keenan O\u2019Hara; Tyron Lydell Williams.)<\/p>\n

BELTON\u00a0\u2013 The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and Texas Highway Patrol (THP) working in conjunction with the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division (Army CID) and the Bell County District Attorney\u2019s Office, conducted a three-day human trafficking operation in Bell County targeting individuals attempting to solicit sex online.<\/p>\n

During the operation, all suspects engaged in sexually explicit online conversations with individuals who identified themselves as 13, 14, 15, and 16 years of age.<\/p>\n

The three-day online operation resulted in the arrest of eleven men, including four active-duty military members. Nine suspects were charged with Solicitation of Prostitution of a Person Under 18 Years of Age, and two were charged with Online Solicitation of a Minor.<\/p>\n

As a result of the operation, the following individuals were arrested and booked into the Bell County Jail:<\/p>\n

Hae-Yong Pae, 44, Copperas Cove \u2013 Online Solicitation of a MinorXavier Alexander Barreto, 21, Fort Hood \u2013 Solicitation of Prostitution of a Person Under 18 Years of AgeRyan Lee Howard, 32, Buda \u2013 Online Solicitation of a MinorJoseph Andrew Paine, 37, Temple \u2013 Solicitation of Prostitution of a Person Under 18 Years of AgeChristopher Matias, 27, Fort Hood \u2013 Solicitation of Prostitution of a Person Under 18 Years of AgeSamsus Moise Perfection St. Loth, 40, Killeen \u2013 Solicitation of Prostitution of a Person Under 18 Years of AgeOmar Katrell Cherry, 45, Belton \u2013 Solicitation of Prostitution of a Person Under 18 Years of AgeRamon Antonio Rivera-Colon, 37, Belton \u2013 Solicitation of Prostitution of a Person Under 18 Years of AgeDwayne Dion Sherman, 32, Killeen \u2013 Solicitation of Prostitution of a Person Under 18 Years of AgeShaun Keenan O\u2019Hara, 38, Gunnison, Colorado \u2013 Solicitation of Prostitution of a Person Under 18 Years of AgeTyron Lydell Williams, 55, Killeen \u2013 Solicitation of Prostitution of a Person Under 18 Years of Age<\/p>\n

This operation highlights the partnership between federal, local and state law enforcement agencies working together to combat human trafficking.\u00a0 If you are a victim of human trafficking or have information about this type of criminal activity, please contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (888) 373-7888.<\/p>\n

Remember, you can also report suspicious behavior through the iWatch Texas\u00a0program via the mobile app, online at www.iwatchtx.org<\/a>\u00a0or by calling 1-844-643-2251. All reports are confidential.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

(DPS \u2013 Central Texas Region)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Pictured above left to right, top to bottom: Hae-Yong Pae; Xavier Alexander Barreto; Ryan Lee Howard;Joseph Andrew Paine;…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-278597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}