Georgia prosecutors charged Kathleen Angel Lowery, 48, of Macon, with human trafficking and racketeering after they accused her of helping sexually traffic a 17-year-old girl. Prosecutors allege Lowery transported the teenager, rented hotel rooms where the trafficking occurred, and received a share of the profits.
A Bibb County grand jury indicted Lowery in August 2026 on three counts of trafficking a person for sexual servitude and one count of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Prosecutors allege Lowery participated in a larger criminal enterprise that trafficked the teenager across Georgia.
The allegations involving Lowery are particularly significant because prosecutors say hotel rooms played a direct role in the alleged trafficking.
Key Takeaways
- Kathleen Angel Lowery, 48, of Macon, Georgia, faces three counts of trafficking a person for sexual servitude and one RICO charge.
- The alleged victim is a missing 17-year-old girl
- Law enforcement recovered the teenager in December 2025.
- Prosecutors allege Lowery helped transport the child for sexual servitude.
- Court records reportedly allege Lowery rented hotel rooms used to traffic the teenager.
- Prosecutors allege Lowery received a share of profits generated by others involved in the trafficking operation.
- Eight defendants are facing charges in connection with the alleged criminal enterprise.
- Authorities allege members of the enterprise photographed the child, advertised her online, transported her for commercial sex, and financially benefited from her exploitation.
Who Is Kathleen Angel Lowery?
Georgia prosecutors charged Kathleen Angel Lowery, a 48-year-old Macon woman, in a multi-county human trafficking investigation involving the alleged sexual exploitation of a 17-year-old girl.
A Bibb County grand jury indicted Lowery on August 20, 2026.
She faces:
- One count of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO
- Three counts of trafficking a person for sexual servitude
Prosecutors accuse Lowery and seven other defendants of participating in a criminal enterprise that allegedly trafficked the teenage victim throughout Georgia.
The charges are allegations. Lowery is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Prosecutors Allege Lowery Rented Hotel Rooms Used to Traffic the Child
According to published reports citing the 23-page indictment, prosecutors allege Lowery played an active role in facilitating the teenager’s exploitation.
Authorities allege Lowery helped transport the victim for sexual servitude, booked hotel rooms used during the trafficking, and received a portion of the profits generated by others involved in the operation.
The alleged conduct involving Lowery occurred between approximately August 8 and October 9, 2025.
Court records reportedly allege that co-defendant Jimmy Lavont Mance harbored victims at multiple hotels around Macon and that Lowery rented rooms in exchange for a share of the profits.
These allegations illustrate an important reality about sex trafficking:
Trafficking operations often depend on people and places that make the exploitation possible.
Missing 17-Year-Old Allegedly Trafficked Across Georgia
The victim is a 17 years old girl. She’s been missing according to reports.
Law enforcement recovered her in December 2025.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office alleges the eight defendants formed a criminal enterprise and conspired to traffic the child throughout Georgia.
Authorities allege members of the enterprise took sexually explicit photographs of the teenager, posted advertisements of her online, transported her for commercial sex, and financially benefited from those acts.
The investigation resulted in indictments across Bibb, Richmond, and McDuffie counties.
Eight Defendants Charged in Alleged Trafficking Enterprise
In addition to Lowery, authorities identified seven other defendants allegedly connected to the enterprise:
- Jimmy Lavont Mance
- Larry James Mance
- Shawanna Brown Mance
- Christopher Jerome Carter
- Moses Lavar Leverette
- John Peyton Norman
- Robert Richard Vantassell
Each defendant faces at least one RICO charge.
Additional charges among the defendants include trafficking a person for sexual servitude, sexual exploitation of a child, pimping, aggravated assault, rape, firearms offenses, and alleged violations of Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act.
Authorities believe the alleged criminal enterprise was affiliated with the Gangster Disciples.
In all cases there is a presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.
Hotels and Child Sex Trafficking
The allegations of hotel rooms during the trafficking deserve close scrutiny.
Hotels can provide traffickers with something they need to exploit victims: a location.
That does not mean a hotel is automatically responsible whenever trafficking occurs on its property.
But when traffickers repeatedly exploit a child in hotel rooms, investigators should examine what happened at those properties and determine whether hotel staff saw or should have recognized warning signs.
Questions may include:
- Which hotels were used?
- How frequently were rooms rented?
- Who made and paid for the reservations?
- Were the same individuals repeatedly checking into the properties?
- Did numerous customers enter and leave particular rooms?
- Did hotel employees interact with the child?
- Did staff observe signs of exploitation or control?
- Were there prior complaints involving the rooms or individuals?
- Did the properties have meaningful human trafficking policies and training?
- Were suspicious circumstances ever reported to management or law enforcement?
Hotel records, surveillance footage, reservation information, payment records, employee testimony, online advertisements, and electronic communications can become important evidence in trafficking investigations.
A Hotel Room Should Never Become a Marketplace for a Child
The fact that traffickers use hotels is not new.
For years, survivors have described being moved from hotel to hotel while traffickers advertised them online and sent buyers to their rooms.
Trafficked children appear to hotel employees to be runaways, troubled teenagers, or young people engaged in prostitution.
That perception can be dangerously wrong.
A child cannot consent.
Hotels and other businesses serving the public should train employees to recognize potential trafficking indicators and establish clear procedures for responding to suspicious activity.
Missing and Runaway Children Can Face Heightened Trafficking Risks
This case also highlights the vulnerability of children who have been reported missing.
Traffickers may target young people who are disconnected from family, experiencing housing instability, involved in the child welfare system, or otherwise searching for safety, affection, money, shelter, or belonging.
A child’s vulnerability does not make that child responsible for their exploitation.
It makes the actions of adults who exploit that vulnerability even more concerning.
When law enforcement encounters a young person involved in commercial sex, the central question should not simply be why that child was there.
Investigators should ask:
Who put them there, who profited, and who helped make the exploitation possible?
Criminal Charges May Be Only One Form of Accountability
The criminal prosecution will determine whether Lowery and the other defendants are guilty of the charges against them.
But criminal cases are not necessarily the only avenue of accountability available to trafficking survivors.
Federal law provides trafficking survivors with a civil cause of action under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, commonly known as the TVPRA.
Depending on the facts, survivors can pursue civil claims against individuals or businesses that knowingly benefited from a trafficking venture they knew or should have known involved trafficking.
Civil investigations involving hotel trafficking may examine reservation histories, payment information, employee observations, surveillance footage, complaints, corporate policies, training records, prior incidents, and relationships between the property and people allegedly involved in trafficking.
Every case is different, and the presence of trafficking at a hotel does not by itself establish civil liability.
Could There Be Other Victims?
Whenever authorities uncover an alleged trafficking enterprise involving multiple people, multiple locations, online advertisements, and hotel rooms, investigators should determine whether additional victims exist.
The Georgia Attorney General’s investigation spans multiple counties and involves eight defendants.
Anyone who encountered Kathleen Lowery or the other defendants in circumstances involving commercial sex or suspected trafficking may have information relevant to the investigation.
Former hotel employees may also possess important information if they remember these individuals, suspicious room activity, complaints, repeated reservations, or other potential indicators of trafficking.
Speaking With a Sex Trafficking Lawyer About Your Rights
Survivors of sex trafficking may have civil legal rights separate from any criminal prosecution of their traffickers.
Andreozzi + Foote represents survivors in civil sex trafficking cases.
These cases can require extensive investigation into the people who committed the trafficking and the businesses, properties, and institutions that may have enabled it to continue.
Andreozzi + Foote provides confidential consultations at (866) 858-3790 or info@vca.law.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Kathleen Angel Lowery?
Kathleen Angel Lowery is a 48-year-old Macon, Georgia woman charged in connection with an alleged multi-county sex trafficking enterprise involving a 17-year-old girl.
What charges does Kathleen Lowery face?
Lowery faces one count of violating Georgia’s RICO Act and three counts of trafficking a person for sexual servitude.
What is Kathleen Lowery accused of doing?
Prosecutors allege Lowery helped transport a 17-year-old girl for sexual servitude, rented hotel rooms used during the trafficking. And received a share of profits generated by others involved in the alleged operation.
Hotel Involvement
Yes. Published reports citing the indictment allege hotel rooms around Macon were used to harbor and traffic victims. Lowery rented hotel rooms connected to the alleged operation.
How old was the alleged trafficking victim?
The victim was 17 years old. Authorities said someone previously reported her missing, and law enforcement located her in December 2025..
Are other people charged in the case?
Yes. Eight defendants have been charged in connection with the alleged criminal enterprise. Authorities secured indictments in Bibb, Richmond, and McDuffie counties.
Can trafficking survivors pursue civil claims involving hotels?
Potentially. Federal law may provide civil remedies in certain trafficking cases. Survivors may pursue civil claims against businesses that knowingly benefited from a trafficking venture they knew or should have known involved trafficking. The specific facts and evidence determine whether a hotel or other business bears civil liability.
Photo courtesy: Bibb County Sheriff’s Office
