One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Don't Mess With Texas: Man Accused of Transporting Teens for Prostitution
Photo by The Trucking Tourist via Flickr
After being taken into custody on Friday, a Santa Ana man is accused of coaxing three underage girls out of the Lone Star State and transporting them to the OC with the intention of selling them into prostitution, reports the OC Register. The man, 26-year-old Samuel Martinez Gonzalez, reportedly invited the girls to California for a beach trip. When they got here, though, rather than sunny skies and warm sand, he allegedly took them to dress shops where he bought them dresses and heels, so they could "go to work" for him, according to L.A. Now.
The girls, who had been missing since August 6, were found after one of their relatives tipped off the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Officials tracked Martinez through a cell phone that was used by one of the girls. They were reportedly staying with him at a motel, along with two other women and potentially a fourth girl.
Martinez is now facing charges of transportation of minors with the intent of engaging in sexual activity, and could face ten years to life in prison.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
