DPD, IRS and homeland security officials said Tuesday they’d continue investigating and prosecuting those involved with the trafficking enterprise.
By Elissa Jorgensen,
Officials on Tuesday announced eight indictments — against six men and two women — in connection with an ongoing investigation at an adult novelty store in northwest Dallas.
U.S. District Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould said during a news conference that six individuals had worked at Paris Adult Book Store at 11118 Harry Hines Blvd. between 2018 and 2025 and were arrested on Friday. The other two allegedly used Paris’s parking lot and back rooms for sex trafficking adults and minors.
The charges listed in the indictment include sex trafficking through force, fraud and coercion, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Raybould said 21 firearms were confiscated from the individuals throughout the investigation.
“For more than two decades, the Paris Adult Book Store allegedly operated under the guise of a legitimate business while functioning as an illicit brothel,” said Travis Pickard, special agent in charge of Dallas’s Homeland Security Investigations office. “Behind its doors, investigators uncovered an enterprise where human beings were being treated as commodities.”
The law enforcement operation, dubbed Midnights at Paris, was conducted by the Dallas Police Department, Texas’ IRS Criminal Investigation office and homeland security officials. The attorney’s office prosecuted the indicted individuals.
“This case really demonstrates what happens when we all work together,” Raybould said. “No single agency can dismantle a criminal enterprise alone.”
In February, Dallas police extended Project Safe Neighborhoods to its Northwest Patrol Division to help enforce drug and sex crime laws. The store was closed less than two weeks later for a “coordinated enforcement activity” along with another business police believe was related to prostitution and narcotics sales.
The agencies said Tuesday they’d work tirelessly to continue finding, investigating and prosecuting those involved with the trafficking enterprise.
“If you’re thinking about committing crime in Dallas, you might want to go someplace else, because we will catch you,” DPD chief Daniel Comeaux said. “We’re going to make sure Paris Book Store doesn’t come back.”
Elissa Jorgensen is a breaking news reporter at The Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of Texas State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in English and master’s degree in mass communication. Elissa previously reported for the Houston Chronicle and Texas Community Health News. She has also written for the Austin American-Statesman and Public Health Watch.
