FOUR MEN CONVICTED OF LOITERING WITH INTENT TO COMMIT PROSTITUTION OR AGREEING TO ENGAGE IN PROSTITUTION

Date: March 5, 2015

FOUR MEN CONVICTED OF LOITERING WITH INTENT TO COMMIT PROSTITUTION OR AGREEING TO ENGAGE IN PROSTITUTION

SANTA ANA – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) convicted four men in February 2015 of loitering with the intent to commit prostitution or agreeing to engage in prostitution. The defendants in these cases approached a woman whom they believed to be a prostitute, or loitered in areas known for prostitution and human trafficking in Orange County. Each of the defendants below agreed to engage or loitered with the intent to engage in commercial sex with a woman and were subsequently arrested by law enforcement.

Defendant	Conviction	Sentence
Aaron Graham Byrnes, 44, Newport Beach	Pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution	Three years of informal probation, must submit to AIDS testing and education and provide DNA sample, and donate $2,500 to the Victim Witness Emergency Fund
REMOVED PURSUANT TO POLICY	REMOVED PURSUANT TO POLICY	REMOVED PURSUANT TO POLICY
Jesus Manuel Lopez, 48, Santa Ana	Pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of agreeing to engage in prostitution	Ten days of CalTrans in lieu of jail, three years of informal probation, must submit to AIDS testing and education, provide DNA sample, and donate $200 to the Victim Witness Emergency Fund
Joaquin Espinoza, 47, Pico Rivera	Pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution	Accepted a court offer of 10 days of CalTrans in lieu of jail, three years of informal probation, and must submit to AIDS testing and education

The OCDA places the booking photos when available and conviction details of defendants on the sex purchasers section of the OCDA’s website, and can be found at the following link: https://orangecountyda.org/media/sexpurchasers.asp.  

The Irvine Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) investigated these cases, as well as the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force (OCHTTF). Members of the OCHTTF and the OCDA work proactively to protect women and minors from falling victim to commercial sexual exploitation. OCHTTF is a partnership between the Anaheim Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Huntington Beach Police Department, OCDA, OCSD, and community and non-profit partners.

Deputy District Attorney Kelly Manley of the HEAT Unit prosecuted these cases.