North Texas man found guilty of sex trafficking after woman found stabbed more than 20 times

There have been multiple attempts to move forward with this trial, along with multiple delays. 

In 2022, the trial date was impacted by a hearing requested by Settle to terminate his attorney, Anthony Eiland, and request another court-appointed attorney. Eventually, Settle was assigned to be represented by Mark Watson, who was provided time to review the materials of the case in order to prepare for trial.

The first day of that initial trial attempt took place on Dec. 5, 2022. However, on Dec. 6, 2022,  Judge Godbey announced to the court that one of the 12 jurors was sick and taken to the emergency room and that he had not sat an alternate judge for the trial. Both sides were asked how they wanted to proceed. The prosecution said it would be fine to move forward with 11 jurors, but Watson, Settle's attorney, said he would prefer there to be a mistrial.

This meant that the trial would restart from the very beginning in front of a new jury at a later date. 

Weeks later, on Dec. 21, 2022, another hearing was held where Settle asked for Watson to be terminated and requested a third court-appointed attorney. 

According to transcripts of both hearings in which Settle requested a new attorney, he expressed frustration that he was being presented with plea deals, and that he did not believe that the attorneys were representing his interests. In both hearings, transcripts reflect that the magistrate judge presiding over the hearing reiterated to Settle that the council he was appointed would be there to act in his best interest, even if their advice wasn't what he wanted to hear. 

Despite complaints that the trial delay was keeping him from his children and acknowledging that seeking attorney would create more delays, Settle was adamant about wanting new representation. 

Eventually, Attorney Russell Wilson II took his case. Wilson will represent Settle in the trial proceedings Wednesday. 

The main victim in this case is a 21-year-old woman, who will be referred to as Adult Victim 1 (AV1) throughout trial to protect her identity. According to court documents, Settle met the woman in early 2020 right after she turned 18 and began directing her to perform commercial sex acts under his authority. 

Although the first attempt at trial was short-lived, the prosecution was able to make it through opening statements and start questioning the first witness, the HSI special agent who investigated this case.

According to the nearly 80-page transcript from that first day in court, during the initial trial attempt, that agent's investigation began after he was contacted by the young woman's mother who was concerned that she was working as a prostitute under a pimp.

In a pre-trial hearing, one of the officers who worked on the case stated that Settle was known for being a "violent pimp". 

The agent said he used the phone number for her, provided by her mother, to locate sex ads that were created and posted using her photos and phone number. The agent also shared details obtained through a forensic search of the woman's phone, including that she was expected to meet a $1,000 per day quota and was not allowed to return home until she met it. There were also text messages displayed, showing the woman asking Settle for permission to eat and being denied.  

The most disturbing element of the agent's testimony and court documents includes an incident where the woman was found on Harry Hines and Walnut Hill with more than 21 stab wounds in May 2020. According to those documents, she was treated at Parkland Hospital but checked herself out a few days later against the advice given by medical professionals and was soliciting sex work weeks later. 

According to the agent, who interviewed Settle before he was indicted, Settle was not accused of stabbing the young woman. In his testimony, he stated that Settle expressed sadness that she was stabbed, but expressed that it stemmed from directing her to be out working when she was attacked. 

However, there were multiple text messages presented as evidence between Settle and the woman in which he alluded to the assault and blamed it on her being "out of pocket", during multiple arguments about the woman not showing Settle respect and doing what he told her to do. 

In addition to the HSI agent, the victim and the officer who found her after she had been stabbed in May 2020 are expected to testify. Prosecutors also stated that they had flown in a witness who is currently incarcerated to testify as a witness as well. 

In a pre-trial hearing held last week, both sides expect the trial to wrap up by Friday, Oct. 20. In order to get a conviction, the prosecution will have to go beyond simply convincing the jury that Settle acted as a "pimp". To prove that he trafficked the woman, they will have to convince jurors that he used force and/or coercion to make the woman solicit commercial sex. A common defense argument in these cases, and one that's already started to arise in some of the pre-trial hearings, is that the someone who works as a prostitutes does so by their own choice.

In the initial trial, prosecutors spent a bulk of opening statements explaining to jurors how what they believe to be prostitution could actually be trafficking, and breaking down the elements of each. 

Wednesday, Oct. 18 was a short day of trial proceedings, as the first half of the day was spent selecting and interviewing jurors. Trial began at 2 p.m. with opening statements presented by the both the prosecution and the defense.

The prosecution explained that there will be a number of witnesses called to testify in this trial including the alleged victim, the HIS Dallas special agent who was initially assigned to investigate this case, the DPD officer who responded to the victim after she had been stabbed, a DPD detective who investigated this case, an assistant warden in Limestone County who will explain the way that jail calls and emails work, an inmate who spent time with Settle while he was incarcerated in Seagoville and a psychologist who’s worked with a number of sex traffickers and sex trafficking victims. 

The prosecution stated that it will be tasked with proving to the jury that Settle made the woman in this case perform commercial sex acts through, predominantly, force and coercion.

During the opening statements delivered by the defense, Attorney Russell Wilson II stated that the defense will be able to prove to jurors that the alleged victim was not forced to work as a prostitute but did so at her own free-will. Wilson pointed out that the woman had been arrested for prostitution multiple times and denied that she was being forced or coerced when questioned by police. He also took jabs at her character, stating that she had been fired from her job at a place known for employing troubled youth and said she “chose a life of crime." 

Both the defense and prosecution spoke about the nature of the text messages exchanged between Settle and the woman, preparing jurors for explicit language and discussion about a “lifestyle” they may not agree with.

After opening statements, the first witness called to the stand was the HSI special agent who initially started the investigation into Settle, after receiving a concerned phone call from the victim's mother. 

The prosecutor who questioned him asked many questions about his experience with investigating sex trafficking and his understanding of the language and practices used in the sex trafficking industry. During the questioning, he and the court were presented with pages of text messages between Settle and the woman to illustrate the nature of their relationship.

The messages showcased a number of arguments, mostly involving Settle accusing the woman of being disrespectful and failing to follow his instructions. In some of the messages, the woman professed her loyalty to Settle and alerted him when she completed commercial sex acts. There are also messages in which the woman asks Settle if she can return home or eat and messages in which Settle threatens the victim and calls her names for not doing what she’s told . Prosecutors questioned the agent, asking him to point out what the messages show about the nature of their relationship, to which he explained the element of control and dominance he often sees when investigating sex trafficking.

Prosecutors also presented the court with an audio recording of an interview the agent had previously conducted with Settle. In the recording, Settle admitted to overseeing a commercial sex operation but said he never forced any of the women to work for him. He admitted that he “convinced girls to do things” for him, but he said they were able to “come and go as they please." 

Settle also admitted that he was physically violent with the alleged victim, but not to convince her to work as a prostitute. He said he took is “role” very seriously, saying, “If they didn’t do things they I told them to do it, it could be dangerous.”

In the recording of the interview, Settle mentioned the night the woman was stabbed 22 times in May 2020 as an example. He said he had told her to work with another woman and to not do drugs, and that she violated both of those orders.”

“That’s one of my big things, no drugs,” Settle said in the recording. “No mind-altering substances. You have to be clear-minded.”

Settle became emotional during the audio recording as he discussed the stabbing. He said he was trying to find out who did it, while saying that it was his fault.

“I had a soft spot for her ever since then,” Settle said.

At the end of the interview clip played by the prosecution, Settle seems to start discussing his life.

“This sh*t is like f*cking poison,” Settle said. “It gets in your brain. It transforms you.”

He called the woman “amazing”, after saying he wouldn’t know how to go about being a boyfriend or a husband to her.

Settle also discussed his “exit strategy” from the life, stating that his plan was to use the money he was collecting as a pimp to open businesses so his children would never have to work for anybody or “see the inside of a jail." 

In questioning the agent, prosecutors pointed out that Settle was not employed and the money he intended to use for his plan would have come from the women who were selling their bodies under his direction.

The court went into recess around 5 p.m. and will resume at 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 19 with the same witness on the stand. 

On Thursday, Oct. 19,  the court heard testimony from five witnesses. The day started with a continuation of questioning of the HSI Dallas special agent who worked the case. He was followed by the DPD patrol officer who was the first to respond to the alleged victim on the night that she was stabbed, an assistant warden with the Limestone County Detention Center who spoke about inmate phone and email privileges, an inmate who was incarcerated with Settle at a prison in Seagoville, a DPD undercover detective who investigated the case and actually arrested Settle and, finally, the alleged victim herself.

Thursday’s questioning and testimonies really honed in on the communication between Settle and the alleged victim while he was incarcerated. Prosecutors pointed out, through many questions, that Settle was specifically told not to reach out to the alleged victim, but the defense pounded back with examples of how the woman accepted and engaged in hundreds of jail calls with Settle and even sent money for his commissary so he could actually make the calls.

Some of the phone calls between Settle and the alleged victim were played for the jury. Clips presented by the prosecution included conversations during which the alleged victim told Settle she was considering going to a shelter and getting resources to rebuild her life, to which Settle expressed anger and frustration. During one of the calls, he pointed out that he was going to receive an additional charge in the case for talking to her and that he wouldn’t have done that if he had known she was going to “leave him". 

In a nearly 20-minute conversation presented by the defense, the alleged victim was venting to Settle about an issue she was having with her mother. During that conversation, she said that she was not a “victim”.

The two standout witnesses Thursday were Latrone Hicks, an inmate who was at Seagoville prison at the same time as Settle and, of course, the alleged victim.

Hicks is serving a 30-year sentence for federal drug charges. He said he met Settle while they were both placed in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) at the prison, which is where inmates are housed when their conduct warrants them being removed from the general inmate population.

Hicks said he and Settle were in separate areas because Settle was awaiting trial and hadn’t been convicted, but that they were in the same hallway and could communicate. He said Settle asked if he could use his inmate number to contact the alleged victim. Hicks said he denied his request but agreed to ask his wife to send her a text message. The message, according to Hicks, was to ask if she had received letters that Settle sent.

However, Hicks said Settle was bragging about “pimping” and saying the women who worked for him would not testify against him. He said he also made a comment that led him to believe that the message he asked his wife to send was being sent to a minor. He said he contacted the federal government with concerns about Settle because he believed had been misled.

Even after confirming with the court that he understood Settle was not accused of involvement with underage victims, he said Settle was “calm” and a “slick talker” when asking for something but developed a “nasty attitude” and “outrage” when things didn’t go his way.

Both prosecutors and defense confirmed with Hicks that he was hoping that testifying would reduce his sentence.

When it was time for the alleged victim to take the stand, the first question she was asked is how she knows Settle.

“He was my pimp,” she replied.

She said she met him in Downtown Dallas a month after her 18th birthday. She said she was walking into a store, and he was complimenting her and asked for her number.

“He was attractive to me,” she said.

The second time she saw him, she said Settle told her he was a life coach and was focused on getting money.

The woman said she was fired from her job downtown shortly after and called Settle to pick her up. She said they were intimate that day in the motel room where he was staying and, within days, she was introduced to another woman who was selling sex under his direction, witnessed Settle physically abuse her and was physically assaulted by Settle.

She said that woman and Settle then taught her how to solicit commercial sex.

During her testimony, during which she became emotional, the alleged victim said she did not want to work as a prostitute but did so because she was afraid to be beaten. She said she would be beaten if she did not make at least $500 per day. She said she loved Settle and believed he cared about her, despite the way she was treated.

She also said that Settle was kind to her and took care of her after she was stabbed, but shortly after, beat her up and made her watch him be intimate with another woman after she tried to leave his house. She said he told her that watching him be intimate with another woman would make her “stronger.” She also said that beating was particularly bad because the scars from the stabbing were still healing.

The woman spoke about how she felt like she had to give all of the money she made to Settle and how she had to take care of his children as well as the children of other women who were working for him.

When asked why she never made an outcry to police after multiple prostitution arrests, she said she didn’t know. When asked about why she made an outcry when Settle was arrested, she said she was “tired.”

She was also asked about the recording of her saying she was not a victim.

“I had to learn the real definition of human trafficking, and when I got that I was like ‘wow’,” she said.

The defense asked her many questions about many jail calls during which the alleged victim had loving conversations with Settle, talked about the future and spoke negatively about the investigation into him. She was also shown a number of romantic text messages between the alleged victim and Settle as well as messages from the woman asking Settle why he wasn’t messaging and calling her.

The woman said she has been in therapy for two years as part of the services she’s received from the nonprofit she is working with. She said she was “ashamed” when she read the messages between herself and Settle, which were from 2020 and 2021. She said she is now able to see them with a “clear mind". 

“I didn’t have him in my head anymore,” she said. “It’s different when you’re physically with someone every day and they’re having sex with you.”

The defense focused questioning on services the woman is receiving that she would not be entitled to if she weren’t a “victim”, like rent assistance, tuition assistance and therapy. The defense also prodded the young woman about the choices she made being her own.

She admitted that she made mistakes, but she said she was manipulated.

The final witness that will testify Friday is a psychologist with expertise in working with sex traffickers and sex trafficking victims.

Judge Godbey told attorneys on both sides that he would like them to finish by lunchtime Friday, so the jury has the afternoon to reach a verdict. The trial will resume Friday, Oct. 20 at 9 a.m.

Just moments after what was scheduled to be the fifth and final witness trial, a psychologist who works with sex traffickers and victims, Daniel Settle’s attorney announced to the court that Settle wanted to testify. The defense had previously stated that it would not call any witnesses, and just moments before the announcement, the prosecution had rested its case.

He was warned by the judge and by his attorney that if he took the stand, he would be cross-examined by the prosecution which could have a negative impact on his case. He was also told that he did not have to testify and that not testifying would not be perceived negatively by jurors.

When he took the stand, he was asked why he wanted to testify.

“I think if you’re accused of something and you’re innocent of what you’re being accused of, you have to speak on that,” Settle said.

Settle told the court how he met the alleged victim. While the specific details of their interactions different slightly, Settle’s account of meeting the woman in Downtown Dallas being initiated by a mutual attraction matched her testimony on Thursday.

Settle admitted to talking to the woman about engaging in commercial sex during one of their initial encounters and confirmed that he took her to the motel where he was staying at the time, where they had consensual sex.

He denied the alleged victim’s claims that he physically assaulted her in the motel room he brought her back to and said the other woman who was in the room spoke to her about working as a prostitute during a conversation that he said he was not a part of.

Settle used his testimony to emphasize that he did not force women to engage in commercial sex.

“In the lifestyle of prostitution, it’s supposed to be choice and not force,” he said.

However, there were discrepancies between Settle’s testimony to the court and the recordings of him speaking with law enforcement that were presented as evidence.

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In closing arguments, prosecutor Andrew Briggs said after Settle met the alleged victim at the West End DART station just after her 18th birthday, he “preyed” on her, using “romance” and “affection” to lure her into commercial sex work and keep her in it through beatings and threats. Calling it a “textbook” trafficker-victim relationship, he reminded jurors of the “hundreds” of recorded jail calls and texts Settle shared with the victim, attempting to keep her loyal to him and off the witness stand for the government.

Settle’s defense attorney, Russell Wilson, said the alleged victim in the case chose sex work, and was not coerced into anything. He urged jurors not to convict his client because they might not like him, or, because of any sympathy for the alleged victim. He said phone recordings and texts showed she willingly engaged in sex work. “A person who is forced and beaten doesn’t send those kinds of messages,” Wilson told jurors.

“You can hate her and disagree with the choices she made when she was a kid,” prosecutors Myria Boehm told jurors. The law doesn’t require the government prove the victim felt coerced and threatened the whole time, she noted. But the texts and statements that sound threatening mean Settle is guilty of trafficking and obstruction of an official proceeding.

“He benefitted from those women’s bodies,” Boehm said. “That is against the law.”

Jury deliberations began shortly after 3 p.m. Friday. 

WFAA will provide updates each day as the latest trial gets underway.