| For Immediate Release Case # 13CF1659 July 18, 2013 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
|
DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS IN PRISON FOR PANDERING 16-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND ANOTHER FEMALE VICTIM
SANTA ANA – A man was convicted and sentenced today to eight years in state prison for pandering a 16-year-old girl and an adult woman. Quandre Charles, 39, Merced, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of pandering by procuring and one felony count of sale of a person for immoral purposes.
Circumstances of the Case
Charles is a pimp/human trafficker who exploits women and/or children for financial gain.
Charles met 16-year-old Jane Doe #1 and convinced her that they were in a romantic relationship. He took all of the money she was paid for her acts of prostitution. The defendant had Jane Doe #1 tattoo Charles’ moniker, “Shampoo,” across her back. This is a tactic known to law enforcement used by pimps to brand prostitutes in order to demean and control them.
In May 2013, the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) set up an undercover sting operation and arranged to meet Jane Doe #1 at a motel in Santa Ana in response to an advertisement on a prostitution website offering sex and sex acts with Jane Doe #1 and 34-year-old Jane Doe #2.
On May 20, 2013, Charles had Jane Doe #1 wait in the motel room for the sex purchaser who responded to the online post. SAPD arrived and arrested the defendant at the scene. Charles was in possession of a video camera containing a recording of Jane Doe #1 performing sex acts.
The investigation by SAPD led to the identification of adult victim Jane Doe #2.
Proposition 35 and HEAT
In November 2012, California’s anti-human trafficking Proposition 35 (Prop 35) was enacted in California with 81 percent of the vote, and over 82 percent of the vote in Orange County, to increase the penalty for human trafficking, particularly in cases involving the trafficking of a minor by force.
Under the law, human trafficking is described as depriving or violating the personal liberty of another person with the intent to effect a violation of pimping or pandering. Pimping is described as knowingly deriving financial support in whole or in part from the proceeds of prostitution. Pandering is the act of persuading or procuring an individual to become a prostitute , or procuring and/or arranging for a person work in a house of prostitution.