Texas Man Faces Up to Life in Prison After Pleading Guilty to Trafficking 13-Year-Old Female to Louisiana for Commercial Sex Acts

Louisiana – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Randi Lewis (a/k/a “Teddy,” a/k/a “Teddy P.”), age 34, from Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty on November 2, 2022, before United States District Judge Lance M. Africk to Count 2 of the indictment pending against him, charging Lewis with sex trafficking of a child under the age of 14, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591(a) and 1591(b)(1). The charges stem from Lewis’S role in bringing a thirteen-year-old female from Houston to New Orleans for the purpose of her engaging in commercial sex acts in June 2021.

Lewis met his co-conspirator, Chelsea Gee, a female born in 2003, in late 2019 or early 2020, according to court filings. Lewis solicited Gee to perform commercial sex acts for him, and she agreed. Lewis also established a set of rules for Gee to follow, including how she was to behave, how she was to dress, with whom she was allowed to interact (i.e., look at and speak to), and how much she was expected to earn every day from commercial sex acts. Lewis used a location-sharing cellular phone application to follow Gee’s location on a regular basis. Lewis also had regular sexual encounters with Gee.

Lewis and Gee met the minor victim, who was thirteen years old at the time, in the Houston, Texas area on or before June 21, 2021. Gee recruited the underage victim to perform commercial sex acts under the supervision of Lewis. Soon after, Gee introduced Lewis to the victim. Lewis arranged for him, Gee, and the victim to travel to New Orleans on a Greyhound bus in order for his co-conspirator and the victim to engage in commercial sex activities once the victim agreed. Gee and the victim performed many commercial sex acts in the New Orleans area between June 22, 2021 and June 24, 2021. Lewis demanded that the juvenile victim turn over all, or nearly all, of the money she made through commercial sex acts to him. Lewis and Gee instructed and guided the minor victim on matters pertaining to the successful performance of commercial sex activities, such as how to behave, what to wear, how to identify and avoid law enforcement, and how to best solicit and engage in commercial sex activities under Lewis’s supervision.

Gee and the juvenile victim solicited commercial sex “dates” in a variety of ways, all under the supervision of Lewis. They began by walking down streets, recruiting customers. Furthermore, Lewis created and caused advertisements to be created on an online classified ad service commonly used to advertise sexual services in exchange for money, through which Lewis received phone calls, text messages, and messages via social media applications inquiring about, scheduling, and arranging prostitution calls with his co-conspirator and the minor victim. Lewis arranged for the inclusion of sexually explicit images of the minor victim in the advertisements. Lewis and his co-conspirator also administered illegal and mood-altering medications, including marijuana, to the juvenile victim in order to numb her senses, control her conduct, and/or encourage her to engage in commercial sex acts. On June 24, 2021, law enforcement officers located the juvenile victim in a hotel in Terrytown, Louisiana.

Lewis faces a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000.00, a lifetime of supervised release following imprisonment, and a statutory $100 special assessment charge. Lewis could possibly be forced to register as a sex offender and pay reparations to the young victim. Judge Africk has scheduled sentencing for March 8, 2023, at 2:00 p.m.

This case was filed as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide campaign initiated by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to tackle the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood, led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, marshals federal, state, and local resources to find, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. To learn more about Project Safe Childhood, go to www.usdoj.gov/psc. For additional information on internet safety education, go to www.usdoj.gov/psc and select the “resources” option.

U.S. Attorney Evans complimented the FBI and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office for their efforts in this case. The prosecution is led by Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg.