SANTA ANA, Calif. – A second striker was sentenced today to 24 years in state prison for the human trafficking, pandering, and attempted pimping of a fictitious minor girl using a social media website.

Circumstances of the Case

• Moses is a human trafficker/pimp who exploits women and/or children for financial gain. With the rise in popularity of social media and ease of meeting people on the Internet, many pimps and human traffickers utilize a variety of social media outlets to locate potential victims.  The victims are often required to turn over all payment they receive for sex acts from sex purchasers to their pimp.
• Between April 16, 2016, and May 10, 2016, Moses contacted an undercover officer, whom he believed to be a 17-year-old girl, on a social media website, with the intent of recruiting the fictitious minor to work for him as a prostitute.
• Moses encouraged the fictitious minor to come to Los Angeles to engage in commercial sex acts for his benefit by explaining how much money could be made and promising to take care of the fictitious minor.
• The defendant arranged to meet the fictitious minor at a McDonald's restaurant in Orange County.
• On May 10, 2016, Moses arrived at the designated meeting location and was subsequently arrested by members of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force (OCHTTF), who investigated this case.

Members of the OCHTTF and the Orange County District Attorney's (OCDA) Office work proactively to protect women and minors from falling victim to commercial sexual exploitation. This case was investigated by OCHTTF, a partnership between the Anaheim Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Costa Mesa Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Huntington Beach Police Department, Irvine Police Department, Newport Beach Police Department, OCDA, Orange County Sheriff's Department, Santa Ana Police Department, and community and non-profit partners.

Deputy District Attorney Daniel Varon of the HEAT Unit is prosecuting this case.

Proposition 35 and HEAT

To read more about California's anti-human trafficking Proposition 35 and the OCDA's Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit, please visit www.orangecountyda.org and select Human Trafficking Information from the Media Center drop down menu.

Orange County District Attorney / Case # 16NF1413 / October 30, 2017