Vidalia man arrested amid human trafficking investigation pleads to juvenile cruelty, sentenced to 18 months in prison

Published 3:42 pm Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

VIDALIA, La. — A Vidalia man who faced felony charges from an investigation of a human trafficking network in Adams County and Concordia Parish took a plea bargain on Wednesday in Concordia Parish Seventh Judicial District Court.

George Rice pled guilty and was sentenced for juvenile cruelty on Wednesday.

George Rice, 48, was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in the Louisiana Department of Corrections with credit for time served after he pleaded guilty to cruelty to juveniles.

Rice had been previously charged with three felonies that included human trafficking for the purpose of engaging in commercial sexual activity and sexual battery in addition to cruelty to juveniles. However, Rice pleaded guilty only to the cruelty to juveniles charge.

Email newsletter signup

Joseph Boothe, First Assistant District Attorney to Brad Burget in Concordia Division B, said the state is still reviewing the case that involves multiple defendants.

“At this time, the state has not found that he is involved in the larger scale of events, only with cruelty to juveniles,” Boothe said in the court Wednesday. He added the other charges have not been dismissed and the state may still come back and prosecute the charges “if we find that he was involved.”

Rice had been arrested by Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office with six other people during its investigation of a human trafficking network in Adams County and Concordia Parish.

Lester Jeanette Ratcliff, 70, has a motion to reduce bond set for hearing at 9 a.m. on March 29. She is represented by attorney Alexandra Letard.

Shelton Rice, 50, also has a felony status hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. March 29. Shelton Rice faces charges of cruelty to juveniles and trafficking of children for sexual purposes as a parent or guardian.

Ratcliff faces three felony charges that include human trafficking for the purpose of engaging in commercial sexual activity, cruelty to juveniles and sexual battery.

Eddie Holloway, 38, is scheduled for pre-trial motions at 9 a.m. on April 12.

Holloway also faces three felony charges that include human trafficking for the purpose of engaging in commercial sexual activity, cruelty to juveniles and second-degree rape.

Others arrested in the case include Quentin Maurice Smith, 45; Jessica Robinson, 36; and Jerry Brownell, 42. Their court status was not immediately available for this report.

Smith, the first arrested in the case, faces charges of trafficking children for sexual purposes, second-degree rape, cruelty to juveniles and sexual battery.

George Rice and Brownell were both incarcerated on a prior conviction of child endangerment at the time they were charged by CPSO in relation to the human trafficking probe.

In October 2022, CPSO began investigating reports of an adult — later identified as Smith — who had possibly engaged in illegal activity with multiple minors over a period of time, according to news reports.

The initial investigation revealed evidence of juveniles being supplied with narcotic substances such as methamphetamine and fentanyl and being transported to locations in both Concordia Parish and Adams County, where adults engaged in sexual activity with them.

As the investigation progressed, more suspects were identified through interviews and digital evidence connecting numerous individuals involved in the activity.

Investigators believe minors in the custody of adults were introduced to someone selling narcotics by their guardians and were provided with narcotics by both those who were illegally selling the drugs and the guardians, who engaged in the use with them.

As a result, the minors were subjected to sexual abuse by adults while under the influence of substances and the adults with custody of the minors did nothing to prevent it.

They instead filmed it.

Evidence was also obtained that revealed someone offering another the opportunity to engage in sex with a sleeping minor in return for methamphetamine. Numerous adult victims were also identified that were exploited for sexual purposes in return for narcotics, one of which attempted numerous times to escape over the course of several years.

All persons arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty.