CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — An undercover sting led to the arrests of two people authorities say groomed young, desperate Corpus Christi high school and junior high girls into prostitution and then sexually assaulted them.
Noraier George Manassian, 80, is charged with sexual assault of a child and solicitation of prostitution for a person under 18 years of age.
Amanda Rene Talbert, 46, is charged with indecency with a child.
The Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission and the Texas Attorney General's Office are investigating. They believe there are more victims in the Tuloso-Midway area. They say Manassian and Talbert preyed on girls as young as 14 years old in dire financial and family situations.
They put out a flyer Wednesday asking for victims to come forward or anyone with information on these crimes to email the Attorney General's Human Trafficking Tip Line at humantrafficking@oag.texas.gov. You can also call 844-643-2251.
The case against Noraier George Manassian
Arrest warrants lay out multiple sexual assault allegations against Noraier George Manassian, who was arrested Feb. 21. He has since bonded out. These crimes date back to 2007:
September 2007: Manassian is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in a hotel room with Talbert and another 16-year-old present. Manassian was 63 years old at the time. One of the victims identified Manassian in a photo lineup. More details on this case below.
January 2008: Manassian is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and also having sex with the girl's friend. The friend's age was not listed. Manassian was 63 years old at the time. He is accused of assaulting the same victim a second time at some point between January 2009 and October 2010. The victim told officers she "had no support at home, did not have the ability to obtain food" or care for family members. The victim identified Manassian in a photo lineup.
August 2023: The Texas Attorney General Office's Human Trafficking Unit received a tip that Manassian asked someone to help him find a girl younger than 18 years old to pay for sex. The TABC said "Manassian has been known to pay to have sex with minor females on multiple occasions in the past."
Feb. 19, 2024: An officer in the Texas Attorney General's Office created a fake online profile for a 16-year-old Corpus Christi girl and attached her phone number. On Feb. 19, Manassian contacted that officer through the online profile and offered her $2,000 for sex. The officer told Manassian via text that she was a "16-year-old high school student." Manassian was 80 years old at the time.
Feb. 21, 2024: Officers with the Texas Attorney General's Office arrested Manassian as he showed up at the agreed meeting place -- the Omni hotel in downtown Corpus Christi at 5:38 p.m. on that Wednesday afternoon. Officers say Manassian had condoms and $2,000 in cash.
He is charged with sexual assault of a child and solicitation of prostitution for a person under 18 years of age.
Manassian is out of jail on $50,000.
The case against Amanda Rene Talbert
Amanda Rene Talbert is fairly well known in the Corpus Christi area. She is the owner of Talbert's Tavern in Northwest Corpus Christi.
Officers believe back in 2007 Talbert helped Manassian find young women to sexually assault. She was arrested March 1, and has since bonded out.
September 2007: A victim told law enforcement that she met Talbert through a mutual friend. Both were 16 years old at the time. She told officers, "Talbert was communicating and arranging dates with several other freshman... for the purposes of having sexual intercourse with a male friend." Talbert was 29 years old at the time.
The victim said Talbert drove her and her friend to the Omni hotel and took them to Manassian's hotel room. She said they all took off their clothes and Manassian had sex with her friend while Talbert inappropriately touched her.
After they were done, the victim saw "Manassian hand Talbert a large amount of United States currency." Talbert then paid each of the 16-year-old girls $700 and put an "undisclosed amount of money" in her purse.
One of the victims identified Talbert in a photo lineup.
She is charged with indecency with a child.
Talbert is out of jail on $25,000 bail.
Why law enforcement believes there are more victims
Officers believe that there are more victims for multiple reasons.
First, two of the victims who spoke to authorities went to the same high school -- Tuloso-Midway High School. They have also told officers that Talbert was "arranging dates with several other freshman" girls at the school.
Second, all of Manassian's potential crimes took place at the same hotel -- the Omni Corpus Christi Hotel where he was arrested. And Manassian didn't just stay there two or three times.
In September 2007 alone, he visited the Omni three times, staying five nights total. In January 2008, he also visited the hotel three times, staying six total nights.