Oklahoma City father, son plead guilty in sex ring

Saturday, February 19th 2005, 5:03 pm

By: News On 6

Bobby Prince Sr. on Friday pleaded guilty to transporting two minors for prostitution and trafficking children for sex, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Oklahoma City.

The father's guilty plea comes the same week that his son and namesake, a former athletic and academic standout at Wichita Northwest High School, pleaded guilty to related charges.

Bobby Prince Jr., 20, pleaded guilty to transporting a 15-year-old Wichita girl for prostitution and trafficking a minor for sex.

"When a father and son are working together to sexually exploit children, it is a situation which requires a harsh reaction from the law," U.S. Attorney Robert McCampbell said Friday.

Sentencing is scheduled in 90 days. Father and son face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, McCampbell said. He added that the guilty pleas could reduce their sentences.

News last month that the younger Prince was alleged to have been involved in the prostitution of minors surprised Wichitans, who had come to know him as a middle school scholarship winner, a high school sports star and a Beautillion Beau.

According to authorities, Bobby Prince Jr., under the influence of his father, may have used his contacts with girls from Northwest to lure six girls ages 13 to 16 to Oklahoma.

Wichita police worked with the FBI in a yearlong operation called "Stormy Nights." It has so far led to nearly two dozen state and federal indictments in Oklahoma City. Eleven defendants have pleaded guilty, McCampbell said.

Police say some of the girls appeared to be working as prostitutes against their will. They were held in various Oklahoma hotels, according to court records.

They were given drugs, dressed provocatively and sold to over-the-road truck drivers during overnight stops along the highway.

Bobby Prince Jr. threatened the girls at gunpoint, according to authorities.

When one girl tried to escape, Bobby Prince Sr. found her at a movie theater, choked her, threatened one of her friends, and dragged her across a parking lot and into a car, according to authorities.