A Houston gang member will spend the next 30 years in federal prison. He sold a 16 year old girl for sex. Andres Serrano Portillo, 25, goes by the street name Andro. A federal judge handed down the sentence on August 7, 2026, in Houston.

Portillo is a member of the Forum Park Crips, a Houston street gang. His case is one of the biggest sex trafficking cases in the Southern District of Texas in recent years. That federal court district stretches from Houston all the way down to the Rio Grande Valley. It covers cities like Corpus Christi, McAllen, Brownsville, and Laredo. The case shows how gangs make money off people, not just drugs.

Court records say Portillo met the girl on social media. He talked her into meeting him in person. Then he forced her to have sex with strangers for money. That crime is called sex trafficking of a minor. It means an adult uses force, lies, or pressure to make a child sell sex for money. It is a serious federal crime that can mean decades in prison.

Portillo took the girl to cars and motels along Bissonnet Street in Houston. Police call that strip "the track." Traffickers have used it for years to sell people for sex. Court records say Portillo also kept the girl locked inside a house. She was hit and sexually assaulted while held there against her will.

The girl got away. She called her mother for help. Her mother called the police. That one phone call started a rescue. It also started a criminal case that would bring down an entire trafficking ring.

Five other people helped Portillo run the operation. All five pleaded guilty and were sentenced too. Michael Anthony Gonzalez, known as Mumbles, 29, got 20 years. Jerreck Michael Hilliard, known as J-money, 37, got just over 24 years. Damarquis McGee, known as Blue, 28, got 29 years. Javon Yaw Opoku, known as Glizzy, 26, got just over 30 years. Clarence Christopher Chambers, known as Chris, 34, got the longest term, 35 years.

Portillo pleaded guilty on July 11, 2022. He waited more than four years for his sentencing date. U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr. gave him 30 years in federal prison. Portillo must also register as a sex offender for life. Once he leaves prison, he faces 10 more years of federal supervision.

The case came together through the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance, known as HTRA. This task force started in Houston back in 2004. It brings together the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the IRS, and the Texas Attorney General's Office. Local police departments take part too. Officials say HTRA is a model that other cities now copy. They say it helps agencies find victims faster and build stronger cases.

Houston police led the investigation into Portillo and his crew. Homeland Security Investigations agents also worked the case. So did the Harris County District Attorney's Office. The case moved through the same Southern District of Texas court system that handles cases across South Texas. That includes Starr, Hidalgo, and Cameron counties.

All six men in this case are now sentenced. Portillo's 30 year term is the second longest. Only Chambers got more time, at 35 years. There is no word yet on whether any of the men will appeal. The criminal case is closed. But task forces like HTRA say the work does not stop there. They say they rescue trafficking victims and build cases like this one across Texas every year.

This case did not happen in South Texas or the Rio Grande Valley. It happened in Houston. But it moved through the same federal court system that hears cases from the Valley. The Southern District of Texas has divisions in Houston, Brownsville, McAllen, Corpus Christi, and Laredo. A big case built in one part of the district can shape how courts handle similar cases. That includes courts in the Valley.

The sentence closes out one chapter of this case. It started with a scared teenager. It started with one phone call to her mother. It ends with six men behind bars. It ends with a task force pointing to the outcome as proof that its model works.