Patrick McGowan is facing the following charges: two counts of trafficking in children, two counts of pimping of a child, two counts of inducement of child prostitution, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, two counts of distribution of a controlled substance – schedule II, possession with intent to manufacture or distribute a controlled substance – schedule II, and introducing contraband in the first degree.
Bryan Steven Burns is facing the following charges: two counts of trafficking in children, two counts of pimping of a child, two counts of pandering of a child, and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Chad Armand Gow is facing the following charges: four counts of trafficking in children, four counts of pimping of a child, four counts of inducement of child prostitution, four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, unlawful sexual contact, and tampering with physical evidence.
Roy Manuel Ibarra-Gonzales is facing the following charges: pimping of a child, pandering of a child, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, trafficking in children, pimping of a child, pandering of a child, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, trafficking in children, pimping of a child, pandering of a child, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, tampering with physical evidence.
DENVER - The Colorado Attorney General's office says 14 people were indicted on Monday, accused of running a human trafficking ring that trafficked children for sex across the state.
SLIDESHOW: 14 ACCUSED IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING RING
According to Attorney General John Suthers' office, 22-year-old Patrick Lloyd McGowan, 20-year-old Chad Armand Gow, 20-year-old Roy Manuel Ibarra-Gonzales and 20-year-old Bryan Steven Burns oversaw the ring that involved not only the prostitution of children, but also sold methamphetamine and cocaine.
The 70-count indictment says McGowan, Gow, Ibarra-Gonzalez and Burns arranged "out calls" for their child victims through the Internet, and coerced the children by giving them drugs and threatening them.
Investigators say the four men sent children to Denver, Boulder, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction and Lakewood for sex.
If convicted of trafficking children, which is the lead count in the indictment, the four could each face up to 24 years in prison and up to $1 million fines.
"Human trafficking and child prostitution are tragic crimes, from the devastating effects they have on their victims to the mere fact that the use and sale of persons persists in our world today," Suthers said in a news release. "This indictment underlines law enforcement's commitment to vigorously investigate and prosecute any and all cases of human trafficking we encounter."
The other 10 people named in the indictment are accused of either helping the trafficking ring or patronizing the operation. Police say two of the people named in the indictment, 21-year-old Santino Santevena and 49-year-old John Malott, are not yet in custody.
The Attorney General says the suspects arranged out-calls for the victims through Internet site backpage.com. Suthers says the four ringleaders set up dates for the victims and johns through the site.
Investigators say the adult section of backpage.com has been a problem for them in the past.
"This is so hard on the whole family," Joyce McGowan, Pat McGowan's mother, said.
She says her son was hoping to clear up his latest drug charge and join the military. He wanted to become someone honorable, like his brother, a Brighton Police officer.
Joyce McGowan says the 70-count grand jury indictment naming McGowan as one of the alleged ringleaders of a statewide minor sex trafficking ring is devastating.
At least five teenage women under the age of 18 were victims in the case, according to Suthers.
When asked if she thinks her son would do something like this, Joyce McGowan responded, "No, I really don't, I think if he did, he was led into it, he was a follower all the way, he's not an instigator in anything, he never has been."
"We feel good about the indictment but we're also very disturbed by it. These are people that are very brazen. This is easy money for them," Suthers said.
Investigators also say last month Pat McGowan sold meth to undercover officers twice, including at a meet-up in the parking lot of Casa Bonita restaurant in Lakewood.
When he was taken into custody, the indictment says McGowan tried to sneak 15 grams of meth into the Jefferson County Jail by concealing the drugs in his underwear.
The AG says he and other lawmakers are working on getting backpage.com to get rid of their adult section in hopes of preventing these types of crimes.
This is the second case the Colorado Human Trafficking Task Force has prosecuted.
Click here to read the full indictment.
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