EL PASO, Texas, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- A Texas juvenile probation officer has been arrested for working with a regional sex-trafficking ring, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Timothy McCullouch Jr., 28, was arrested Friday by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations agents and charged with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and sex trafficking of a minor, El Paso Times reported.
McCullouch, a El Paso County probation officer, has been jailed pending a detention hearing, set for Friday.
Seven of the ring's alleged members have also been arrested.
Authorities said the gang's operation ran from May 2012 to March 2013.
Prosecutors said that the gang allegedly held women and teenage girls against their will and beat them if they did not work as prostitutes.
The men then took the money from the women, authorities said.
The criminal complaint against McCullouch was not available, and it is not known whether the alleged crimes are linked to his position as a juvenile probation officer, the Times reported.
If convicted, all eight men could be sentenced to life in federal prison.
