HOUSTON – On Tuesday, Harris County Precinct 1 deputy constables announced the arrest of an accused pimp who officials say claimed to make $30,000 per week from selling drugs and prostituting women.
Mark Anthony Cole, 43, has been charged with aggravated promotion of prostitution, possession of intent to deliver a controlled substance and delivery of controlled substance.
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Officials said Cole was arrested in an undercover prostitution sting at a high-end hotel in Houston. Cole ran into an undercover officer and bragged about making $30,000 a week from trafficking women, officials said.
Cole brought 13 women into the hotel room to engage in prostitution during the undercover operation, investigators said. The trafficked women, 20-30 years in age, told investigators they were in fear of Cole and that he was at times violent to them, officials said. Cole would sell a victim for $15,000 to an upscale client based in uptown areas such as River Oaks, high-end areas and restaurants, officials said.
Cole is being held without bail in the Harris County jail. He faces 25 years to life in prison.
Constable deputies are asking for the public's help for information on additional women who were possibly victimized and forced into prostitution.