Northeast Philly man and his daughter ran a human-trafficking ring targeting women in addiction for 12 years, officials say

A 52-year-old man and five of his associates have been charged with running a human-trafficking ring in Northeast Philadelphia, luring vulnerable young women into working for them, then giving them drugs and forcing them to have sex with men across the region, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday.

For the last 12 years, Terrance Jones has operated a commercial sex business out of his home on the 800 block of Disston Street, in Lawndale, said Attorney General Michelle Henry. Jones advertised his business, called “GFE” or “the Girlfriend Experience,” online and connected with young women in their 20s, most of whom struggled with addiction and were desperate for money and housing, Henry said.

When women reached out to the organization, Henry said, Jones would pose as a woman, altering his voice to be a higher pitch and saying his name was Julie or Julia, to earn their trust. He would tell the women that he could have a driver pick them up and take them on “dates” where they could make upwards of $250 and score drugs, she said. He used the women to lure other victims who were addicted to drugs into the scheme, telling one confidant that he “could ‘wash em up’ and make money with them,” according to the affidavit of probable cause for Jones’ arrest.

“This case is about greed and control,” Henry said at a news conference Tuesday. “He made these women feel worthless. He controlled them, manipulated them, and, in a way, programmed them to feel like this was their only option.”

Investigators with the Pennsylvania State Police learned of the ring in 2021 after a confidential informant contacted police and said they feared a friend was being trafficked. Investigators met with the woman at a motel and she said she had just gotten out of a sober living home in South Philadelphia when she connected with Jones’ organization.

She appeared physically and mentally impaired, the affidavit said, and told officials that she was taken to four “dates” in one night, and that the driver — later identified as Jones’ business partner Thomas Reilly — then forced her to have sex with him in exchange for a place to sleep. Reilly gave her drugs, and the woman said she felt “trapped” and “did not feel free to leave,” according to the records.

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After meeting with the woman, officials launched a three-year investigation, during which they tapped phone calls, acted as undercover sex workers and buyers, and tracked down Jones’ clients, according to the affidavit. Investigators found that the operation crossed through the Philadelphia suburbs and into New Jersey, and that, over just 10 days in 2023, Jones arranged 78 “dates,” the filing said. The amount of money the women were given varied, Henry said, but Jones pocketed most of the funds.

Among Jones’ business partners was his 29-year-old daughter, Natoria, who Henry said handled the financials and payments between the women and customers.

Terrance Jones has been charged with trafficking individuals, involuntary servitude, running a corrupt organization, operating a house of prostitution, and related crimes. Natoria Jones has been charged with promoting unlawful acts and running a corrupt organization, while Reilly has been charged with rape, conspiracy, corrupt organizations, and nearly a dozen additional crimes.

Three other men — James Rudolph, Joseph Franklin, and Rhaheem Hill — are accused of transporting the women to the paid sexual encounters, and have been charged with similar offenses.

Sixteen men who used Jones’ organization to solicit women for sex were also arrested Monday and charged with conspiracy and promoting prostitution. Many were in touch with Jones’ company hundreds of times over the course of eight months, investigators said, and some solicited sex upwards of 10 times in just 20 days.

Jones has run the organization since 2012, the affidavit said, and before the coronavirus pandemic, he often forced the women to have sex with him as part of the “interview process” to work with his company. The women would connect with “Julie,” who would tell them they needed to meet with a longtime client first to see if they were good enough for the job, the affidavit said. In reality, it was Jones, and he would begin giving them drugs and setting them up to be trafficked for prostitution, according to the filing.

Officials have identified over a dozen women who Henry said were trapped in the scheme for months at a time, and believe there are many more who haven’t come forward. The women are being offered trauma and addiction support to restart their lives, she said.

Henry encouraged anyone who may have been victimized by Jones — or any other sex crimes — to call state police at 215-452-5239 or text the human trafficking hotline at 233733.