| For Immediate Release March 29, 2013 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
|
MALE AND FEMALE ARRAIGNED ON CHARGES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING FOR PIMPING WOMAN AFTER BRINGING HER TO ORANGE COUNTY
FROM OUT OF STATE
FULLERTON – A man and woman were arraigned today on charges of trafficking and pimping a woman after brining her to Orange County from out of state. Mark Wesley Anderson, 27, Seattle, WA, and Jaeleesa Jaemika Smith, 25, Salem, OR, are both charged with one felony count each of human trafficking of an adult, pimping, and pandering by procuring. Anderson is also charged with one felony count of possession for sale of a controlled substance. If convicted, Anderson faces a maximum sentence of 20 years and eight months in state prison and Smith faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in state prison. The defendants are being held on $250,000 bail. Anderson and Smith were in court today and are scheduled for a pre-trial hearing April 9, 2013, in Department N-12, North Justice Center, Fullerton.
Proposition 35 Case
The case against Anderson and Smith was filed today using the new penal codes under California’s anti-human trafficking Proposition 35 (Prop 35), which passed in November 2012. 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. Deprivation or violation of the personal liberty of another includes substantial and sustained restriction of another’s liberty accomplished through force, fear, fraud, deceit, coercion, violence, duress, menace, or threat of unlawful injury to the victim or to another person, under circumstances where the person receiving or apprehending the threat reasonably believes that it is likely to be carried out.
Prop 35 was enacted in California with 81 percent of the vote, and received over 82 percent of the vote in Orange County. It increases the penalty for human trafficking, particularly in cases involving the trafficking of a minor by force. Prior to Prop 35, a conviction for human trafficking of an adult carried a maximum sentence of five years in state prison. Defendants convicted of the same crime under Prop 35 now face a maximum sentence of 20 years in state prison.
Circumstances of the Case
In November 2012, Anderson is accused of meeting 30-year-old Jane Doe at her place of employment in another state. He is accused of befriending the victim with the intention of procuring her as a prostitute. Anderson is accused of trying to recruit her as a prostitute, but she declined. Jane Doe believed she had a romantic relationship with the defendant.
In March 2013, Anderson is accused of transporting the victim to another state under the pretense of a vacation. He is accused of driving the victim to Idaho with two other women and Smith. Anderson and Smith are accused telling the victim that they were short on money and that she was going to bring in money as a prostitute. Anderson is accused of being violent toward another woman by beating her with a wire hanger, causing Jane Doe to be vulnerable, isolated, and scared of the defendant
Smith is accused of assisting Anderson by enforcing the “Rules of the Game” imposed by Anderson.