09/15/2025 | Press release | Archived content
Date: Sept. 15, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
Houston, TX - A registered sex offender has been ordered to federal prison for aiding and abetting the transportation of a woman across state lines to engage in prostitution and failing to comply with requirements of the Sex Offender Registration Act, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Paul Edwards Evans aka Blue Diamond pleaded guilty May 29.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt has now sentenced Evans to a total of 120 months in prison. In imposing the sentence, the court considered Evans had inducted two family members into the family business which involved the trafficking of women to engage in commercial sex acts.
The crimes took place in the Bissonnet street area of Houston and in various other cities between Texas and California including Las Vegas, Nevada.
The "blade" or "track" is an area near I-59 Southwest Freeway and Bissonnet Street in Houston where pimps and traffickers commonly place their victims to engage in commercial sex.
As a registered sex offender, he was also required to notify authorities when traveling from state to state. However, as part of his plea, he admitted that he failed to do so.
Evans will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Wirsing prosecuted the case.
The FBI and Houston Police Department (HPD) conducted the investigation as part of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) with the assistance of the Santa Barbara, California, Police Department.
HTRA law enforcement includes members of HPD, FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, Texas Attorney General's Office, IRS Criminal Investigation, Department of Labor (DOL), DOL - Wage and Hour Division, Department of State, Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission, Texas Department of Public Safety, Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General (OIG), Social Security Administration - OIG and Sheriff's Offices in Harris and Montgomery counties in coordination with District Attorney's offices in Harris, Montgomery and Fort Bend Counties.
Established in 2004, the United States Attorney's office in Houston formed HTRA to combine resources with federal, state and local enforcement agencies and prosecutors, as well as non-governmental service organizations to target human traffickers while providing necessary services to those that the traffickers victimized. Since its inception, HTRA has been recognized as both a national and international model in identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and prosecuting those engaged in trafficking offenses.
IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.