FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Case # 18CF2395
DATE: August 27, 2018
MAN CHARGED WITH PIMPING AND PANDERING
THREE WOMEN IN ORANGE COUNTY
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was charged and arraigned on Friday for pimping and pandering three women in Orange County.
|
Defendant |
Charges |
Maximum Sentence |
Court Date |
|
Leroy Lee Foster, 30, Stockton |
Charged with the following felony counts:
|
Eight years and eight months in state prison |
Pre-trial Hearing
Sept. 4, 2018, 8:30 a.m.
Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana |
Foster is accused of being a human trafficker/pimp who exploits women 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 to locate potential victims.
Circumstances of the Case
- Between Aug. 16, 2018 and Aug. 22, 2018, Foster is accused of pimping and pandering 22-year-old Jane Doe 1, 20-year-old Jane Doe 2, and 21-year-old Jane Doe 3.
- Prior to Aug. 22, 2018, the defendant is accused of meeting Jane Doe 2 online and thereafter arranging for her, Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 3 to solicit sex purchasers in areas of Long Beach and Orange County known for prostitution.
- The Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force (OCHTTF) located a sexually explicit advertisement depicting a woman on a website known for prostitution.
- Investigators responded to the advertisement and set up a “date” with Jane Doe 1 at a local hotel.
- Foster is accused of renting another hotel room nearby where he monitored, controlled, and supervised the prostitution activity of Jane Does 1 through 3.
- Defendant was arrested after leaving the hotel with Jane Doe 1, another female, and a young child.
- Officers then contacted Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe 3 at the original motel, where they located further evidence consistent with Foster pimping and pandering the victims.
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 Anaheim Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Costa Mesa Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Irvine Police Department, Newport Beach Police Department, OCDA, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Santa Ana Police Department, and community and non-profit partners.
Prosecutor: Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver, HEAT Unit
Pimps often establish rigid rules that their victims are expected to follow including requiring victims to speak only when spoken to, address the pimp as “Sir” or “Daddy,” assigning seats in the car based on “rank,” and setting daily quotas that the victims are expected to fulfill. The victims are required to turn over all payment they receive for sex acts from sex purchasers to their pimp. Failure to follow these rules can result in deprivation of food and/or physical and/or emotional abuse.
Proposition 35 and HEAT
To read more about California’s anti-human trafficking Proposition 35 (Prop 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.