Press Enterprise: Kayla
Jackson was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and pimping a
14-year-old girl as a prostitute.
Riverside County prosecutors have
filed their first case under California’s human trafficking law approved by
voters in November.
Kayla Corithian Jackson, 18, of
Moreno Valley, was charged on Tuesday, March 12, with one count each of human
trafficking a victim under the age of 18, pandering a person under the age of
16, pimping, and making a person under 16 available for a lewd act.
Jackson pleaded not guilty at her
arraignment Tuesday and remained in custody on $85,000 bail; her next court
hearing is March 21.
Under Prop. 35, passed by 81
percent of the voters, a person convicted of human trafficking can receive up
to 12 years in prison. Previously, the maximum sentence was eight years in
prison — and only if the use of force, violence or coercion was present.
The new law includes a sentence of
15 years to life in prison if force is used to gain the participation of a
minor, the Riverside County district attorney’s office said in a news release.
Jackson was arrested after members
of the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking task force, the FBI’s Inland
Empire Child Exploitation and Prostitution task force, and the Moreno Valley
Problem Oriented Policing team investigated a report of a 14-year-old runaway
girl.
Investigators found an online
advertisement depicting the 14-year-old and offering sex for money. Agents
arranged an undercover deal, and the girl was found in a Moreno Valley motel
and taken into protective custody.
Authorities say Jackson was with
the girl, and investigators determined the 14-year-old was working as a
prostitute “under the direction and assistance of Jackson,” the news release
said.
“Riverside County is unfortunately
seeing more and more instances of human trafficking, causing us great concern,”
District Attorney Paul Zellerbach said in a statement.
The news release said Zellerbach
was in Sacramento with other members of his office to support legislation to
augment prosecution of human trafficking by district attorney offices
throughout the state.
Source: www.pe.com
