| For Immediate Release March 14, 2014 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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15 MEN CONVICTED OF LOITERING, SOLICITING, AND/OR AGREEING TO ENGAGE IN PROSTITUTION
SANTA ANA – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) convicted 15 men of loitering, soliciting and/or agreeing to engage in prostitution. Thirteen of the men were convicted in February 2014. Two of the men were convicted in November 2013 and December 2013. The defendants in these cases approached a woman, whom they believed to be a prostitute, in areas known for prostitution and human trafficking in Orange County. They agreed to engage in commercial sex, loitered with intent to commit prostitution, and/or solicited another to engage in prostitution with a woman or an undercover officer and were subsequently arrested by law enforcement.
The Garden Grove Police Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and Santa Ana Police Department investigated these cases. Deputy District Attorney Michael Bardeen of the Human Exploitation And Trafficking (HEAT) Unit prosecuted these cases.
The defendants below each pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of agreeing to engage in prostitution, loitering with the intent to commit prostitution, and/or soliciting another to engage in prostitution. The defendants were each sentenced up to three years of informal probation, up to 45 days in jail with the possibility of CalTrans in lieu of jail, and must submit to AIDS testing and education.
· Jeffrey Calvert, 34, Santa Ana
· Ricardo Cortez, 31, Tustin
· Jose Luis Gomez, 36, Costa Mesa
· Paulino Lopez, 48, Santa Ana
· Tony Kinfai Ma, 46, Montclair