Midwest City woman, Ardmore man accused in child trafficking case

A metro woman and an Ardmore man are now behind bars, accused of sex trafficking and exploiting an eight-year-old child.

Police arrested Antron Monroe for his involvement in an unrelated case involving child sex abuse material. When interviewed, he told investigators he'd also been communicating with a woman in Midwest City who had agreed to sex traffic a child in exchange for money.

"They were negotiating a price for physical sexual contact with that eight-year-old," said Mark Woodward with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

In a string of disturbing texts between the child's caretaker, Ashleigh Blanton, and Monroe, Blanton solicited the child for sex.

"This is somebody in their care who they were counting on to take care of them, to love them and to watch out for them and protect them, and she did the complete opposite," said Woodward.

In hundreds of messages outlined in court filings, Monroe told Blanton he was willing to pay between $5,000 and $8,000.

"It's a very under-reported crime, too, and that's what's very concerning is, is how often this is taking place and we're not fortunate enough to be able to intercept it and stop it," said Woodward.

Under the guise of wanting to feel what it was like to be a family in messages through an explicit app, Monroe asked Blanton for explicit pictures of her and the child. Monroe also claimed he planned to teach the child to drive, saying, "She can sit on my lap, so I can guide her, nothing sexual."

"Oftentimes, the more guilty they realize they are, the more ridiculous their stories of justification," said Woodward.

Reaching the terms of their agreement, Blanton started travelling to Ardmore, where Monroe was living when investigators on I-35 stepped in and intercepted the child.

"She may have just been minutes away from meeting up with him, and we don't even want to think about had that meeting taken place," said Woodward.

Both defendants are awaiting formal charges.