Joel Willie Lawrence French of Choctaw Charged With Running Sex Trafficking Ring

CHOCTAW MAN IS INDICTED BY A.G. ON 10 CRIMINAL CHARGES RELATED TO RUNNING A LARGE SCALE SEX TRAFFICKING RING THROUGHOUT THE OKC AREA.

12/21/2020 (updated 1/11/2021) - Choctaw, OK - (By Brian Bates)
On Dec. 17, 2020 Joel Willie Lawrence French was indicted on 10 criminal counts alleging he is the ringleader of a large human sex trafficking ring operating throughout Oklahoma City and surrounding areas.

JohnTV was THE FIRST to report on French’s arrest and alleged crimes when we posted to our Facebook page on Dec. 15th. That report was soon picked up by the local media. Below is a news story and interview I did with jennifer Pierce of KWTV News 9 on Dec. 16 2020.

According to court documents, on Dec. 1, 2020 French was arrested by members of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs - Human Trafficking Unit (OBNDD) on criminal complaints of human trafficking and pandering. French was booked into the Oklahoma County Jail and his bond was set at $1-million.

With French safely in jail, investigators with the OBNDD requested, were granted and executed a search warrant upon his upscale Choctaw residence (16451 River Rock Circle) on Dec. 7, 2020.

According to the search warrant (SW-2020-2050), items to be seized included:

  1. Banking Records: statements, deposits, checks, wire transfers, money orders, safe deposit boxes, loans information, etc.

  2. Credit Card History

  3. Electronics: Any and all digital storage devices, to include, computers, hard drives, thumb drives, etc.

  4. Items of Dominion and Control: Any and all utility bills, correspondence, receipts, records of assets, keys, etc.

  5. Videos/Photographs: Specifically those stored in a digital format.

  6. ‘Containers’: Any and all ‘containers’ found in the residence, property, vehicles, outbuildings, etc. that may contain any of the items listed above.

While utility records indicate that Mr. French pays the utilities at the above listed residence, the property, valued at approx. $330,000, is actually in his wife’s name - Artoya French. JohnTV’s own independent investigating shows a woman by the name Artoya Camille French is registered with an active license (#R0090012) with the Oklahoma Board of Nursing as an RN. Further investigation shows that Joel Willie Lawrence French Married a Artoya Camille Huggins-French in Canadian County in 2010. The French’s are reported to live in their upscale Choctaw residence with at least one young child.

Revealed in the application for search warrant was the fact the French’s were under physical and electronic surveillance for some time. Undercover officers identified two vehicles coming and going from the residence that are registered in his name: a gray 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe (OK JEH-990) and a silver 2012 Ford F-250 truck (OK CGA-325). On Sept 28, 2020 OBNDD agents covertly attached GPS tracking devices to each of French’s vehicles.

Surveillance records show French routinely driving from his home in Choctaw to apartments in Oklahoma City. Apartments described in investigative reports as “where French has girls set up, working as prostitutes.”

Specifically, French frequented The Drexel Apartments (8800 S. Drexel Ave in OKC), The Augusta Apartments (4001 NW 122nd St in OKC), and Countryside Village Apartments (9516 S. Shields Blvd. in OKC). It was noted that on some occasions French would only remain in specific apartment units for a few minutes and other times he would stay overnight.

Tax records show that French lists himself as ‘unemployed’ and has had no verifiable income since 2016.

The official search warrant return inventoried the following items were seized from French’s Choctaw residence: four laptop computers, four external hard drives, three electronic tablets, one thumb drive, twelve mobile phones, $5,170 in cash, one Ford F-250 truck, multiple data CD’s, two cameras, numerous apartment keys, and multiple dominion and control documents.

It appears French first came under investigation after a ‘confidential informant’ (CI) provided details about French’s alleged sex trafficking operation. Details that were later corroborated by OBNDD investigators after they identified, located and interviewed “other cooperating individuals, participants and a thorough review of records.”

According to multiple individuals, French has been a pimp or trafficker for the past 15-years. French would allegedly recruit young women throughout the metro, set them up in apartments, place ads online offering them for commercial sex, negotiate with potential ‘johns’ and then take the proceeds paid to the women. Additionally, it is alleged that French often uses force, fraud and coercion to maintain control of the women he makes a part of his organization.

Alleged victims detailed how French would require them to rent apartments and that he’d use fraudulent documents and references to secure the leases.

On Dec. 15, 2020 Brian Bates of JohnTV was the first to publicly report on French’s alleged criminal activities. On Dec. 16, Bates began distributing fliers in French’s upscale neighborhood to warn, inform and encourage residents to come forward with any additional information.

The results of the investigation were turned over to prosecutors with Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter’s office. The evidence was then presented before the 18th Multicounty Grand Jury of Oklahoma, which convened on March 3, 2020. During the Grand Jury, jurors heard from multiple alleged victims who detailed their interactions with French.

As a result, the jury true billed ten criminal counts against French, involving 10 separate alleged victims. On Dec. 17, 2020 French was formally criminally charged in Oklahoma County with 10 counts of felony human trafficking.

  1. Count One: Human Trafficking for Commercial Sex: Specifically, French is alleged to have procured female “Victim A” between Jan. of 2015 and Nov. of 2020 for the express purpose of prostitution by day of deception, fraud, force, threat, and/or coercion.

  2. Count Two: Human Trafficking for Commercial Sex: Specifically, French is alleged to have procured female “Victim B” between Jun. of 2017 and Aug. of 2017 for the express purpose of prostitution by day of deception, fraud, force, threat, and/or coercion.

  3. Count Three: Human Trafficking for Commercial Sex: Specifically, French is alleged to have procured female “Victim C” between Jan. of 2016 and Jun. of 2020 for the express purpose of prostitution by day of deception, fraud, force, threat, and/or coercion.

  4. Count Four: Human Trafficking for Commercial Sex: Specifically, French is alleged to have procured female “Victim D” between Apr. of 2017 and Aug. of 2020 for the express purpose of prostitution by day of deception, fraud, force, threat, and/or coercion.

  5. Count Five: Human Trafficking for Commercial Sex: Specifically, French is alleged to have procured female “Victim E” between Jul. of 2015 and Jun. of 2020 for the express purpose of prostitution by day of deception, fraud, force, threat, and/or coercion.

  6. Count Six: Human Trafficking for Commercial Sex: Specifically, French is alleged to have procured female “Victim F” between Jul. of 2020 and Dec. of 2020 for the express purpose of prostitution by day of deception, fraud, force, threat, and/or coercion.

  7. Count Seven: Human Trafficking for Commercial Sex: Specifically, French is alleged to have procured female “Victim G” between Oct. of 2020 and Nov. of 2020 for the express purpose of prostitution by day of deception, fraud, force, threat, and/or coercion.

  8. Count Eight: Human Trafficking for Commercial Sex: Specifically, French is alleged to have procured female “Victim H” between Dec. of 2019 and May. of 2020 for the express purpose of prostitution by day of deception, fraud, force, threat, and/or coercion.

  9. Count Nine: Human Trafficking for Commercial Sex: Specifically, French is alleged to have procured female “Victim I” between Nov. 1 of 2014 and Nov. 31 of 2014 for the express purpose of prostitution by day of deception, fraud, force, threat, and/or coercion.

  10. Count Ten: Human Trafficking for Commercial Sex: Specifically, French is alleged to have procured female “Victim J” between Jul. of 2020 and Aug. of 2020 for the express purpose of prostitution by day of deception, fraud, force, threat, and/or coercion.

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter issued a news release on Dec. 17 regarding French’s indictment and Hunter had this to say, “Human trafficking is a despicable criminal industry that is a growing threat in Oklahoma and around the world … It leaves lifelong psychological and physical toll on victims if they are lucky enough to get out alive. This indictment will hopefully send a strong message that law enforcement isn’t going to tolerate this kind of activity in Oklahoma. I appreciate the thorough investigation by the OBN and the grand jurors who heard testimony on the case and returning the indictment. We look forward to presenting this case in court.”

Conviction on any one of the above criminal charges carries a penalty from 5 years to life imprisonment and up to $100,000 in fines.

OBNDD Director Donnie Anderson was quoted as saying, “I am extremely proud of the tireless work over the past several months by Agents within our Human Trafficking Unit to build this case against French and secure the safety of young women who were victimized within his organization … Human Trafficking is an insidious crime that often targets the innocent and vulnerable. My agency is committed to aggressively identifying and removing these predators and their organizations operating in our state.”

The ages of the alleged sex trafficking victims was not revealed in the charging documents.

French has not yet been formally arraigned because he could not be brought before Oklahoma County Judge Timothy Henderson because French has “[not yet been] tested for Covid.” French’s arraignment has been moved to Dec. 28, 2020.

On Dec. 18, 2020 French’s defense lawyer filed a motion to have his client’s $1-million bond reduced. That motion is to be heard on Jan. 8, 2021 at 10am.

On Dec. 28, 2020 Oklahoma County Judge Timothy Henderson raised French’s bond to $2,000,000. Prosecutors had requested that bail be denied.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for links to additional resources related to this case.


JohnTV will continue to follow this case and bring you the latest updates.

UPDATES:

12/22/2020: Since my original post regarding Joel French’s arrest, I have had several women reach out to me to share their experience with him. Below is a portion of just one of those phone calls. The female caller’s voice has been disguised, at her request.

If you have information regarding Joel French, please send me an email to JohnTVokc@gmail.com.

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