DALLAS— Kenneth Richardson, 33, of Dallas, pleaded guilty Friday afternoon, before U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, to one count of using a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise, stemming from his operation of a prostitution “ring,” announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Richardson has been in custody since his arrest in November 2015 on an indictment charging him with that offense. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for August 19, 2016.
According to plea papers filed in his case, from approximately July 2014 to mid-August 2015, Richardson engaged in a prostitution enterprise in various hotels in Dallas, including the Crowne Plaza located off of Interstate 35. During this time, Richardson was employed as a U.S. military contractor, and his duties included assisting new military recruits as they began processing into the military. As part of his job, Richardson had access to numerous hotel rooms at that hotel each day.
Richardson recruited several women to work for him in his prostitution enterprise and used a cell phone and hotel rooms to promote, manage, and facilitate their involvement in commercial sex acts. On more than one occasion, Richardson provided the women with hotel rooms at the Crowne Plaza to which he had access by virtue of his employment and at no cost to himself or the women. Richardson used a cell phone to communicate with these women regarding their prostitution activities, and he received payments from the women that they earned from engaging in those commercial sex acts.
The FBI is in charge of the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Foos Pierce is in charge of the prosecution.
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