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Ali
Although standing before Jefferson County 252nd District Court Judge Raquel West to admit guilt in attempting to solicit a child for sex, Dr. Sadiq Ali was allowed to leave Feb. 22 without a requirement for inclusion on the Texas Sex Offender Registry – and the whole matter won’t even show up on criminal background checks as long as the rheumatologist completes three years of deferred probation and pays a $1,500 fine, the judge agreed.
At a Human Trafficking Awareness event in January, prosecutor Tatiana Zelezniak said she was unaware of the disposition of the cases of 21 men arrested in an October 2020 child and adult prostitution sex sting undertaken by the district attorney’s office and the Beaumont Police Department, including that of Ali. According to Zelezniak, persons attempting to purchase children for sex were not going to be offered deals for probation. At Ali’s sentencing hearing, Zelezniak offered no objection to the physician pleading guilty to attempted online solicitation of a minor, a thirddegree felony, and receiving three years of deferred adjudicated probation and a $1,500 fine with no requirement to participate on the sex offender caseload; Ali did agree not to seek early release from probation.
According to a press release announcing Ali’s arrest as part of an anti-human trafficking bust targeting “sex buyers,” the demand provided by arrested men are the reason trafficked children are served as commodities.
“Sex trafficking is fueled by the demand that these buyers provide,” BPD Officer Carol Riley stated at the time. “Without men who are willing to purchase sex, traffickers and pimps would not exploit victims, many who are children, and force them into a life of prostitution. The purpose of this operation was to reduce demand and deter people from buying sex.”
According to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, 234,000 victims of human trafficking are active at any given time in Texas, and 79,000 of those victims are minors.
A disciplinary panel of the Texas Medical Board announced the temporary suspension of Ali’s license to practice after his 2020 arrest but can reinstate the doctor’s privileges at will.
Those arrested for soliciting adult prostitution in the 2020 sting included Taha Khan, then 29, of Beaumont; Philip Ray, then 65, of Port Neches; Jermaine Pattrum, then 29, of Jennings, Louisiana; Venkata Kishore Yadan Penneru, then 26, of Beaumont; Brant Erwin, then 26, of Vidor; Oliver Fernando Rodriguez, then 29, of Beaumont; Christopher Michael Herring, then 40, of Beaumont; Quenton Alexander Pickens, then 33, of Beaumont; Emiliano Alcala Beltran, then 42, of Lumberton; Edward Jimenez, then 31, of Port Arthur; Joey Dewayne Hall, then 40, of Kirbyville; Ivan Banks, then 37, of Beaumont; Steven McBroom, then 46, of Silsbee; and Dr. Rajen Bhulabhai Desai, then 62, of Beaumont.
Those arrested for attempting to solicit prostitution of persons under the age of 18 alongside Dr. Ali were Bobby Wayne Armstrong, 45, of Vidor; Gary Barnes, then 53, of Zachary, Lousiana; Robert George, then 50, of Lake Charles, Louisiana; Omar Resendiz, then 30, of Beaumont; Jordan Mitchell, then 33, Lumberton; and Devendra Sah, then 28, of Beaumont.