CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — KRIS 6 has obtained documents that reveal new details into the investigation of a possible sex trafficking ring in Corpus Christi.
As we've reported, on Wednesday morning, the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission (T.A.B.C.) released a flyer asking for any information involving two adults charged with child sex crimes.
On that flyer are the photos of 46-year-old Amanda Rene Talbert, the owner of Talbert's Tavern, and 80-year-old Noraier George Manassian, from Dripping Springs, Texas.
According to T.A.B.C., Manassian finances local environmental companies.
According to Talbert's police report, the investigation began on October 19, 2023, when a woman told a T.A.B.C. investigator in the presence of a Coastal Bend Wellness Foundation victim's advocate about an incident that occurred in 2007.
The victim revealed that when she was 15 years old and a freshman at Tuloso-Midway High School, she met Talbert through a mutual friend, who was also a freshman at T.M.H.S. The woman stated Talbert was "communicating and arranging dates with several other freshmen at Tuloso-Midway High School for the purposes of having sexual intercourse with a male friend of Talbert's."
She stated that in approximately September 2007, she met Talbert's friend, Noraier George Manassian. The victim claimed Talbert picked her and another minor up at the old Chicken Shack located at 10137 Leopard Street and took them to the Omni Corpus Christi Hotel at 900 Shoreline Boulevard.
The victim stated she, Talbert, and other other minor victims arrived at Manassian's hotel room. Once inside, Talbert asked both minors to take off their clothes while she took off hers. Then, they all made their way to the bed, where Manassian had sex with the minor while Talbert touched the victim's private areas.
Soon after, the victim saw Manassian hand Talbert a large amount of money. According to the report, Talbert gave both minors $700 each, and then Talbert placed an undisclosed amount of money in her purse.
According to Corpus Christi Omni Hotel and Resorts records, Manassian stayed at their hotel on three separate occasions during the month of September. He stayed there on the following dates: 9/4/2007 to 9/5/2007, 9/17/2007 to 9/19/2007, and 9/26/2007 to 9/28/2007.
Meanwhile, the Texas Attorney General's Office launched an investigation into Noraier George Manassian on August 1, 2023, where a witness told the state agency that Manassian was attempting to pay a female for sex. That witness said Manassian asked them to find him a female to have sex with. At that point, an investigator with the Texas Attorney General's Office Human Trafficking Unit created an online profile and posed as a 16-year-old girl, offering a phone number to Manassian. On February 14, 2024, the undercover officer posing as a minor messaged Manassian online. He began communicating with the officer via text messaging. He agreed to meet with the "young girl" for sex even after she provided him information via text message that she was a 16-year-old high school student.
Two days later, the undercover officer sent a text asking Manassian to meet her at the Omni. Manassian advised her to "wait in the lobby for him and not to speak with anyone until he called with a specific location." That evening, investigators with the Texas Attorney General's Office saw Manassian pull into the parking garage and immediately arrested him. When Manassian exited his vehicle, a 3-pack of condoms were on the ground near his feet, and he had $2,000 in his front left pocket.
He was taken into custody and charged with Soliciting Prostitution from someone under 18 years old and sexual assault of a child.
Manassian bonded out just days after his arrest.
As for Talbert, she was arrested on April 9 and was charged with Indecency With a Child. She was taken to the Nueces County Jail, where her bond was set at $150,000.
When asked if any of the crimes took place at the Annaville bar, a spokesperson with T.A.B.C. said they couldn't respond to that question.
Meanwhile, anyone with information on any criminal activity involving Talbert or Manassian have been asked to email the Office of the Attorney General's Human Trafficking Tip Line at humantrafficking@oag.texas.gov.
