Leader Of Tulsa Child Sex Trafficking Ring Pleads Guilty

The leader of a major child sex trafficking operation in Tulsa pleaded guilty in federal court.

Monday, 21-year-old Joshua Harring admitted he prostituted underage girls.

The undercover officers who busted the case open said it hits close to home.

Federal prosecutors breathed a sigh of relief after Harring's guilty plea.

U.S. Attorney Danny Williams said, "To finally get to this point, to get the main person, really, justice has been done."

They said the 21-year-old was head of a local child sex trafficking ring.

"Joshua Harring was the leader in this sex trafficking operation. There were approximately six or seven co-conspirators and they preyed on young women in our community," said federal prosecutor, Trent Shores.

Federal court documents show Harring worked with others to prostitute at least three girls who were all under 18.

Using social media to recruit the girls, making them perform sex acts for money, and then keeping the money for themselves.

One undercover officer said, "Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, social media - that's how individuals and traffickers like Joshua Harring are recruiting girls in Tulsa, Oklahoma, of all places."

Undercover officers from the Tulsa Police Vice Unit spent more than a year investigating the prostitution ring. They broke the case open about a year ago when an officer posed as a customer at a Motel 6 in east Tulsa, saved the 16-year-old victim and arrested Harring along with those working with him.

Officers said they worked tirelessly, but seeing Harring plead guilty made it worth it.

"It pulls at your heart strings because we all have family members who are young girls - nieces, granddaughters, it really gets to you," Sergeant Joe Gamboa said.

Harring will spend 22 years in prison.

The others involved in the ring have already pleaded guilty.