A 37-year-old Indianapolis man already jailed on child molestation charges is now accused of trafficking two underage family members to other men in exchange for drugs, according to a probable cause affidavit. Cartonieo McBride was charged on October 16 with promotion of child sexual trafficking, a Level 3 felony, along with sexual misconduct with a minor and dissemination of matter harmful to minors.
The two underage victims named in the case were McBride's own family members, according to the affidavit cited by WTHR. The document alleges McBride permitted co-defendant Rodney Hillery, 39, to engage in sexual acts with one of the victims in exchange for drugs. Hillery has been charged with one count of human trafficking, a Level 4 felony, as reported by Fox 59.
Police say they have identified additional suspects involved in trafficking the two underage girls and are searching for another individual who has not yet been identified publicly. No charges have been filed against that person as of publication, per the same report. The case traces back to May 2025, when the two girls told police that McBride had molested them, according to court documents cited by the station.
Charges Stack On Top of 2025 Molestation Case
McBride was already facing multiple Level 1 felony counts of child molestation from 2025 before this month's trafficking and sexual misconduct charges were added. Under Indiana Code § 35-50-2-4, a Level 1 felony carries a statutory prison sentence of 20 to 40 years, with an advisory sentence of 30 years and fines up to $10,000, according to Justia Law.
The newly filed Level 3 promotion of child sexual trafficking charge carries its own fixed prison term between 3 and 16 years, with an advisory sentence of 9 years, under Indiana Code § 35-50-2-5. The Level 4 felony counts McBride and Hillery each face — sexual misconduct with a minor for McBride and human trafficking for Hillery — carry a fixed term of 2 to 12 years with an advisory sentence of 6 years under Indiana Code § 35-50-2-5.5, according to WomensLaw.org. Indiana law also specifies that providing money, drugs, or property to obtain a human trafficking victim is a Level 4 felony, and state statute explicitly bars defendants from arguing a victim's consent as a defense, per Keffer Hirschauer LLP.
A Violent Confrontation a Year Before the New Charges
McBride's path to these charges included a violent run-in with police roughly a year before the trafficking allegations surfaced publicly. Hoodline previously reported that IMPD shot a wanted suspect on the city's east side on October 2, 2025, after he tried to flee. IMPD detectives had surrounded a detached garage in the 900 block of North Grant Avenue while trying to serve McBride with active Marion County arrest warrants, and officers opened fire after he repeatedly reached into his waistband while disobeying commands — though police later confirmed he was unarmed.
At the time, McBride faced warrants including Level 4 felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, Level 5 felony theft, robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm by a domestic batterer, and driving while suspended, along with an active warrant tied to alleged child sex crimes. He was critically injured in the shooting but recovered and is now listed as an inmate in the Marion County Jail. A booking photo was not available at the time of publication, Fox 59 noted.
State Law Mandates Protective Custody for Minor Victims
Under Indiana Code § 31-34-1-3.5, any minor identified as a victim of human or sexual trafficking is automatically designated a Child in Need of Services by the Indiana Department of Child Services, a status that initiates state protective custody and care. The designation allows juvenile courts to remove minors from dangerous environments regardless of other circumstances surrounding the case.
The case adds to a pattern of trafficking enforcement across central Indiana in recent months. The National Human Trafficking Hotline recorded 1,235 trafficking cases involving 2,698 identified victims across the state between 2007 and 2023, according to figures from IN.gov. Ascent 121, a Central Indiana anti-trafficking organization, has separately provided trauma-informed recovery services to 117 minor sex trafficking survivors across the state in a single year, according to Coburn Place.
Other recent cases in the region include a Noblesville sting operation that led to human trafficking charges against two of five men arrested, and a Greensburg sting last month that netted four men from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky on related charges. It remains unresolved who the still-unidentified additional suspect is or whether charges will ultimately be filed against that person, according to Fox 59.
