Category: Sex Crimes

Two Long Beach men, aged 24 and 22, have been arrested for holding two women and a 16-year-old girl captive while allegedly forcing them to work as prostitutes. The Press Telegram states that the men were arrested during a traffic stop near The Pike at Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach. The arrests occurred after the women escaped and notified the authorities of their situation. The teenager was rescued from an Inglewood motel. One of the men faces nine felony counts while the other faces two. The charges include human trafficking, mayhem, kidnapping, pimping, pandering, and other sex crime charges.

According to the California State Attorney General, sex trafficking is the world’s fastest growing criminal enterprise. By some estimates, human trafficking is a $32 billion-a-year business. The United States is one of the top destinations for trafficking, and California’s Attorney General has stated that the state is “one of the nation’s top four destination states for trafficking human beings.”

Human trafficking involves the unlawful trade of people who are forced to work as prostitutes or laborers. Some trafficking victims are U.S. citizens, but the majority of trafficking victims are brought in from Mexico, Asia, and other countries.

A 68-year-old worship leader from Torrance who has been recently charged with molesting a 10-year-old girl now faces additional charges. The Daily Breeze reports that a new investigation took place after a family member stepped forward with allegations. The new charges stemmed from an act that allegedly took place back in 2004 near Lomita Boulevard and Anza Avenue. The worship leader has pleaded not guilty to three counts of lewd acts with children and is scheduled to return to court June 5, 2013.

Molestation is defined as an act of unwanted and indecent advances for sexual gratification. The most serious molestation charges involve minors. Any form of physical contact of a sexual nature with a child is considered child molestation and the penalties for a conviction can be severe.

63-year-old Palos Verdes man will have to register as a sex offender and spend 90 days in jail for allegedly molesting teenage boys he invited to live in his Rolling Hills and Palos Verdes Estates homes. The Daily Breeze reports that he pleaded guilty in a Torrance court to misdemeanor counts of sexual battery by fraud and child molestation. He was charged with fondling two teenage boys who were allegedly thrown out of their homes. He allegedly groped the boys as they stayed in his house.

The victims, who are now young men, say that they did not come forward with the molestation accusations sooner because they needed a place to live. He was arrested after these allegations came to light. As part of his plea agreement, he will be placed on probation and forced to undergo sexual impulse counseling.

California Penal Code Section 288 makes it a crime to touch a child under the age of 14 for sexual purposes. Penalties for touching a child under 14 can result in up to eight years in a California state prison. If the minor was 16 or 17 years old, the case can be prosecuted as statutory rape, sexual battery, or as annoyance or molestation of a child under Penal Code Section 647.6.

A 53-year-old retired California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer faces multiple sex crime charges after allegedly using a social networking site to contact children. According to The Daily Breeze, the Burbank man was arrested the morning of April 29. Officials say he allegedly identified himself as a teenage girl on Tagged.com to meet an 11-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl. He was charged with two counts each of possession of child pornography, contact with a minor for sexual offense, and sending harmful matter to a minor. He retired from the CHP in 2012.

You do not have to make physical contact with a minor to face serious sex crime charges in California. For example, you can face misdemeanor or felony charges for “sexting” a minor, or for sending a minor harmful material with the intention of seducing him or her.

It is important to understand what type of material is considered harmful matter under California law. Under Penal Code Section 313 (a), “Harmful matter means matter, taken as a whole, which to the average person, applying contemporary statewide standards, appeals to the prurient interest, and is matter which, taken as a whole, depicts or describes in a patently offensive way sexual conduct and which, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.”

An 18-year-old Los Angeles high school student has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a female classmate. According to a KABC news report, the young man was arrested at Valley High School in North Hills. Officials say he pulled a 17-year-old girl into the boys’ bathroom and attempted to take her clothes off. She informed a teacher who called the authorities. Since he allegedly held her against her will, he faces kidnapping charges as well as intent to commit rape.

California law states that an individual does not actually have to commit a crime in order to be charged with attempting to commit a crime. California Penal Code Section 21a states: “An attempt to commit a crime consists of two elements: a specific intent to commit the crime, and a direct but ineffectual act done toward its commission.” Attempting to commit a serious sex crime, such as rape, can result in felony level charges punishable by years of incarceration.

Undercover Hawthorne policewomen recently apprehended 11 men on suspicion of soliciting prostitutes. The Daily Breeze reports that the five-hour operation took place on Imperial Highway from Inglewood Avenue to Crenshaw Boulevard in Hawthorne. While posing as prostitutes, the female undercover officers waited for men to drive up to chat with them. After they allegedly arranged a deal, the men parked their cars and walked with the undercover officer to a motel room where they found officers who were ready to arrest them. A similar operation last year also resulted in 11 arrests.

The Daily Breeze reports that the Hawthorne police department has made 98 arrests of women on suspicion of loitering for the purpose of prostitution. Furthermore, they have obtained court orders on 52 of the alleged prostitutes to stay away from that specific area along Imperial Highway. Women who violate this type of restraining order are subject to arrest.

Prostitution is prosecuted aggressively in Southern California. Anyone suspected of engaging in a sexual act in exchange for money or other goods and/or services will face charges. California law states that it is a misdemeanor for individuals to solicit sex for money or to sell sexual favors for money.

Failing to register as a sex offender is a serious crime in California. Since 2011, violating Megan’s Law has been punishable by up to 180 days in county jail. According to a news report in The Los Angeles Times, a bill that would require prison time instead of jail time for failing to comply with Megan’s Law has failed to make it out of the public safety committee.

Supporters of the bill believed that it was necessary because a violation of Megan’s Law can result in as little as one day in jail because of overcrowding issues. The Republican assemblyman from Rancho Cucamonga who drafted the bill also feels uncomfortable with how county officials group all sex offenders as one.

A 40-year-old man who was already facing rape charges is now looking at additional charges after a girl allegedly recognized him when she saw him on the news. According to The Daily Breeze, the Redondo Beach man was arrested for an alleged rape reported on September 28, 2012. Officials say that he assaulted a Gardena woman he met on Tagged.com at gunpoint inside a vehicle that was specifically designed to keep people inside with disabled doors and locks.

When his arrest was reported in the news, a teenage girl allegedly recognized him and notified the authorities. According to the new charges, she was an 11-year-old runaway when he sexually assaulted her. It is unclear what evidence they have to link him to thatsexual assault incident, but the authorities are now searching for more potential victims.

Under California Penal Code 261, California law defines rape as non-consensual intercourse with another through use of force, threats, or coercion. Intercourse is defined as any level of penetration. Rape is a felony that can result in eight years in prison and mandatory registration as a sex offender. These penalties may significantly increase if the victim suffers an injury or is a minor.

A Los Angeles doctor has been arrested and charged with committing sexual battery on a patient more than five years ago. According to a news report in The Republic, the San Fernando Valley doctor was arrested in connection with an incident that allegedly occurred in 2007. Officials say a woman was receiving a medical exam as part of her U.S. citizenship exam when the doctor sexually assaulted her.

He lost his license in 2011 after being accused of this incident during a licensing hearing. His license was stayed, however, and he was placed on probation. He now faces two felony charges.

A 45-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of molesting three children at his Los Angeles County daycare center. The Los Angeles Times reports that the owner of the Cano & Ramos Family Child Care center in Boyle Heights was arrested for alleged incidents that occurred in 2008, 2009, and in February of this year. Officials say a five-year-old girl attended the facility for the first time on February 5 and told her parents that the man touched her inappropriately.

The new allegations prompted police to review prior cases that did not lead to arrests. In 2008, the authorities were unable to file charges because the mother of another five-year-old victim was homeless and difficult to track down. In 2009, there was not enough evidence to arrest the day care owner on other allegations of fondling a child. Now that a third alleged victim has stepped forward, the authorities reopened the old cases and charged the Los Angeles man with three felony counts of committing lewd acts on a child.