Abilene Police Seize Phones, Electronics in Trafficking and Assault Case

ABILENE, TX -- Abilene Police seized numerous electronic devices at the home of an elderly Abilene man who is facing charges of sex trafficking and sexual assault of a child.  

Maria Aguilera with KTXS reports today that 70-year-old Howard Collier is accused of paying male and female teens for sex acts before his arrest in December.  

According to court documents, a female victim under the age of 17 was interviewed by an officer and she stated that she, along with a friend, had received $800 in cash to perform sexual acts on each other. Collier was interviewed and confirmed the allegations.  He said he performed a sexual act on one of the female victims and that he paid $1,000 in cash.

And a  male victim under the age of 17 was interviewed by an officer. The male victim said Collier would perform sexual acts on him and then paid him $5,000 in cash for the sex act. The victim “also stated he was aware of other victim(s) that are or were under the age of 17 years of age that performed sexual acts with/for Howard Collier and were paid money for those acts.”  According to KTXS.  

Police seized 11 laptops, three computer towers, three thumb drives, three cameras, two cell phones, two computer servers, one video recorder, one box of DVRs, one computer, one tablet, and CDs allegedly belonging to Collier.