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Inmate charged in murder-for-hire
Jennifer Kveglis reports.
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. - An accused child rapist and human trafficker is now facing murder-for-hire charges while inside the Hernando County Detention Center.
Deputies said while incarcerated, 57-year-old James Houllis sought out someone to commit the murder of at least one witness from a July 2023 case in exchange for a few things.
"Our detectives received information that Houllis was soliciting other inmates in the jail to either get someone on the outside to kill one or both witnesses," said HCSO Public Relations Director, Denise Moloney. "When detectives finally questioned him about it, he denied the whole thing and said he was joking. ‘I might have made a factual statement that if the witness disappeared, so would most of my case.’"
Investigators said he promised an inmate who was set to be released shortly thereafter multiple things in exchange for the murder.
"He drew a map, he told him where he could find this witness, what time the witness goes to work, where the witness works, what door the witness goes in at work. So he really meant business," she said.
But deputies halted those plans.
Since the 1980s, Houllis changed his address 53 times, including locations in California and Colorado, where he allegedly met one adult female victim online and groomed her into participating in sexual activities with multiple males for Houllis' monetary gain.
Then the two moved to Spring Hill, where he posed as the adult female victim online to solicit a juvenile female runaway to move in with him while the juvenile was under the impression she was meeting the adult victim.
The juvenile unknowingly signed a contract agreeing to partake in any sexual acts Houllis desired.
"The victim stated that she was sent a contract, and it was related to dominant and submissive agreement by email," said HCSO Sheriff Al Neinhuis during a July 2023 press conference.
In a first appearance in court, a judge granted the victims no-contact orders. However, investigators said Houllis disregarded it and contacted the victims multiple times, threatening them to drop the charges.
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