Trafficking In Hessmer: Lubbock Mother and Son Accused of Trafficking Louisiana Teen; Arrested After License Plate Alert

Summary based on reporting from the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

A Lubbock mother and son are facing serious charges in Louisiana after being accused of trafficking a 16-year-old girl from Hessmer late last month. According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 18-year-old Ioannese Agustin Astorga and 50-year-old Ana Maria Astorga-Harpster were arrested on December 4 after license plate reader systems helped authorities track their vehicle.

Both suspects appeared in the 137th District Court in Lubbock, where they waived extradition. They will be transported to Avoyelles Parish to face felony charges of trafficking of children for sexual purposes, computer-aided solicitation of a minor, and pornography involving juveniles. Their bonds were set at $250,000 each.

The investigation began on November 25, when Hessmer Police received a report of a missing 16-year-old girl. Investigators later learned the teen left home the night before and was picked up at a local dollar store. Detectives with the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office examined the girl’s electronic devices, which reportedly contained messages showing Astorga and his mother planned to take her, asked her to bring her birth certificate, and included explicit exchanges.

The affidavit also notes that Astorga referred to himself and his mother as “traffickers” and urged the teen to delete their conversations. Surveillance video captured a Jeep Renegade with covered license plates in the store’s parking lot around the time of the incident. Investigators later confirmed Astorga-Harpster owned a Jeep matching that description, registered in Texas.

License plate readers tracked the vehicle’s route into Texas, eventually flagging it in Lubbock. Officers located the suspects at a home in the 1900 block of 61st Street, where both were arrested. A third person at the residence, 53-year-old Nicholas Harpster, was also taken into custody on a misdemeanor charge of harboring a runaway.

The case remains under investigation.