Dionte Johnson, age 30, of Atlanta, has been indicted on two counts of Trafficking of Persons for Sexual Servitude. Johnson was previously employed as a clerk at the Economy Hotel in Fulton County, where these acts are alleged to have occurred.
Throughout the course of a larger investigation, Analyst Umniah Al Bayati with the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit found evidence to suggest that a hotel clerk had knowingly assisted in the trafficking of a 16-year-old female victim. After further analysis by the HEAT Unit, the GBI arrested and charged Dionte Johnson on Feb. 14, 2023.
Specifically, Dionte Johnson is alleged to have knowingly provided the rooms in which the trafficking occurred. He is also alleged to have solicited the underage victim for sex.
The Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit presented evidence to a Fulton County Grand Jury, resulting in Dionte Johnson’s indictment* on March 20, 2023.
Prior Indictments
On Dec. 18, 2021, a traffic stop was conducted on a vehicle driven by Mark Thomas in Cherokee County, and a 16-year-old female was located in the passenger seat.
The minor female disclosed that she had been sold for sex by Mark Thomas for approximately three months beginning in September 2021 when she was 15 years old.
In part, Mark Thomas is alleged to have driven the child to Woodstock, Georgia, to be sold to Jose Medina Dominguez and Cesar Juarez Oaxaca. On Oct. 10, 2022, Mark Thomas, Jose Medina Dominguez and Cesar Juarez Oaxaca were indicted* in Cherokee County.
Mark Thomas is also alleged to have sold the victim along Fulton Industrial Boulevard and in surrounding hotels, including the Economy Hotel. Cedric Johnson is alleged to have assisted Mark Thomas by, in part, receiving a portion of the financial proceeds from the sale of the underage victim. Ruben Tolentino is alleged to have purchased the child for sex. On Oct. 17, 2022, Mark Thomas, Cedric Johnson and Ruben Tolentino were indicted* in Fulton County.