Authorities have charged 22 people in connection with an alleged sex trafficking network that a man ran from his Northeast Philadelphia house for more than a decade.
Terrance L. Jones, 52, posed as a female in phone conversations to lure young women – most of whom were struggling with addiction – to his prostitution operation, Attorney General Michele Henry said at a news conference Tuesday.
Jones is accused of plying the victims with drugs and a cut of the cash to keep them reliant on him. He employed several drivers to transport the women to ‘dates’ and collect the money, and his adult daughter helped handle virtual payments, according to prosecutors.
“As all trafficking predators do, he made these women feel worthless,” Henry told reporters. “He controlled them, manipulated them, in a way programmed them to feel like this was their only option.”
In addition to Jones, authorities arrested his alleged deputy, 54-year-old Thomas Reilly; 29-year-old daughter, Natoria Jones; and three drivers. Henry added that her office charged 16 men with purchasing sex through the enterprise.
“We have made it a point to charge the buyers in this case because, to end human trafficking, we must reduce the demand,” Henry said.
Investigators said Jones rarely dropped his female persona – known by the victims as “Julie” or “Julia” – in business matters, almost exclusively communicating with the women through online communication and phone calls, during which he would alter his voice.
He marketed the services online, advertising phone numbers linked to “Girlfriends” or “The Girlfriend Experience.” The operation, which he allegedly ran from his house on the 800 block of Disston Street in the Lawndale neighborhood, “generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual revenue,” according to a grand jury report.
Detectives tapped multiple phones tied to Jones for less than a month in early 2023 and found evidence of 78 ‘dates,’ the report stated. During that time period, the business deployed 15 women and charged an average of $250 an hour, investigators added.
The dollar amount allotted to the victim varied and depended on their relationship with Jones, according to the AG’s Office.
Prosecutors believe Jones’s trafficking ring dates to at least 2012. Pennsylvania State Police began their probe into his network three years ago after an informant came forward, the AG’s Office said.
Jones was apprehended Friday, Oct. 18, and his charges include being involved with corrupt organizations, human trafficking, involuntary servitude, criminal conspiracy and related offenses. Court records indicate that he is being held on $2 million bail, of which he must post 10% to be released.
The public defender’s association, which is representing Jones, declined to comment on the case.
Anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Jones or his associates can call the State Police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations at 215-452-5239.
