| For Immediate Release Case # 14CF1730
May 27, 2014 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718Farrah Emami Spokesperson Office: 714-347-8405 Cell: 714-323-4486
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PAROLEE ARRAIGNED ON CHARGES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING MINOR AND PIMPING AND PANDERING HER AND ANOTHER FEMALE TEENAGER
SANTA ANA – A parolee was arraigned today on charges of trafficking a minor, and pimping and pandering her and another teenager. Dominique Legrand Lewis, 21, San Diego, was charged today with five felony counts including human trafficking, pimping a minor, pandering with a minor over 16 years old by procuring, pimping, and pandering, with a sentencing enhancement for a prior prison strike conviction for residential burglary in 2012. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 26 years and four months in state prison. He is being held on $100,000 bail and has a parole hold from the previous conviction. Lewis was arraigned today and is scheduled for pre-trial on June 4, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
Circumstances of the Case
Lewis is accused of being a pimp who exploits women and/or children for financial gain. The defendant is accused of trafficking 17-year-old Jane Doe #1 by unlawfully depriving her personal liberty. He is accused of pimping Jane Doe #1 and 18-year-old Jane Doe #2 by deriving support from the victims through the earnings and proceeds of prostitution and pandering the victims by unlawfully procuring them for the purpose of prostitution.
Between May 7, 2014, and May 21, 2014, Lewis is accused of driving both Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 from San Diego to an area of Santa Ana known for prostitution with the intent of having the victims engage in commercial sex.
On May 21, 2014, after contacting a Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) officer posing as a sex purchaser, Jane Doe #1 was taken off the streets to a shelter where she could get help.
On May 22, 2014, Lewis is accused of driving to the shelter with Jane Doe #2. He is accused of attempting to remove Jane Doe #1 from the shelter. The shelter immediately contacted SAPD, who arrived at the scene and arrested Lewis.
The investigation is ongoing. Deputy District Attorney Brad Schoenleben of the HEAT Unit is prosecuting this case.
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.