ANAHEIM, Calif. (June 19, 2025) – A 46-year-old Las Vegas man has been arrested by Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force (OCHTTF) Investigators and charged by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for human trafficking after Anaheim Police recovered a 16-year-old girl after officers responded to a call of a girl being held against her will by a man with a gun.
On May 30, 2025, Anaheim Police Officers responded to a motel on the 700 block of S. Beach Blvd. regarding a girl who was being held against her will by her suspected trafficker, who was armed with a gun. Responding Patrol Officers successfully recovered the victim and escorted her to safety. OCHTTF Investigators responded and immediately launched a human trafficking investigation to identify the girl’s trafficker.
Approximately two (2) hours later, Anaheim PD Investigators arrested the victim’s trafficker, Donald Newton of Las Vegas, in the City of Stanton without incident. Newton was booked into Anaheim Police Department’s Detention Facility for several human-trafficking-related offenses.
OCHTTF Investigators served a search warrant at a motel room and recovered a loaded firearm.
On June 3, 2025, prosecutors from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office HEAT (Human Exploitation and Trafficking) Unit charged Newton with PC 266h(b)(1) – Pimping a Minor Over 16 Years Old, PC 266i(a)/(b)(1) – Pandering with a Minor Over 16 Years Old, and PC 236.1(c) – Human Trafficking of a Minor. On June 11, 2025, additional charges of PC 29800(a)(1) – Possession of Firearm by a Felon, PC 30305(a)(1) – Possession of Ammunition by a Prohibited Person, and three (3) counts of PC 12022.5(a) – Personal Use of a Firearm in a Felony were added. Newton remains in custody and is being held in lieu of $500,000.
This investigation illustrates the commitment of the OCHTTF and its partnering agencies in locating and identifying victims of pimping or human trafficking. The Anaheim Police Department and Waymakers co-chair the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force. The lead agencies for the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force also include the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), California Highway Patrol (CHP), Garden Grove Police Department, Irvine Police Department, Santa Ana Police Department, Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Orange County Probation Department, Orange County Social Services Agency, The Salvation Army, U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). For more information about the OCHTTF, visit https://www.ochumantrafficking.com.
A critical component of the OCHTTF is the OCDA’s HEAT Unit, which targets perpetrators who sexually exploit and traffic women and underage girls for financial gain, including pimps, panderers, and human traffickers. The HEAT Unit uses a tactical plan called PERP: Prosecution, to bring justice for victims of human trafficking and hold perpetrators responsible using Prop 35; Education, to provide law enforcement training to properly handle human trafficking and pandering cases; Resources from public-private partnerships to raise public awareness about human trafficking and provide assistance to the victims; and Publicity, to inform the public and send a message to human traffickers that this crime cannot be perpetrated without suffering severe consequences.
Under the law, human trafficking is described as depriving or violating the personal liberty of another person with the intent to affect a violation of pimping or pandering. Pimping is described as knowingly deriving financial support in whole or in part from the proceeds of prostitution. Pandering is the act of persuading or procuring an individual to become a prostitute or procuring and/or arranging for a person to work in a house of prostitution.
If you, or anyone you know has been a victim of human trafficking, you can contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline at (888) 373-7888 or contact your local law enforcement department.
Based on the charges listed against Newton, here are the potential penalties he faces under California law:
Primary Charges (Filed June 3, 2025)
- PC 266h(b)(1) – Pimping a Minor Over 16 Years Old
- Felony offense
- Penalty: 3, 4, or 6 years in state prison 1
- PC 266i(a)/(b)(1) – Pandering with a Minor Over 16 Years Old
- Felony offense
- Penalty: 3, 4, or 6 years in state prison
- Requires sex offender registration if the victim is a minor 1
- PC 236.1(c) – Human Trafficking of a Minor
- Felony offense
- Penalty: 15 years to life in state prison
- Mandatory sex offender registration
- Considered a serious and violent felony under California’s Three Strikes Law
Additional Charges (Filed June 11, 2025)
- PC 29800(a)(1) – Possession of a Firearm by a Felon
- Felony offense
- Penalty: 16 months, 2, or 3 years in state prison
- PC 30305(a)(1) – Possession of Ammunition by a Prohibited Person
- Felony offense
- Penalty: Up to 3 years in state prison
- PC 12022.5(a) – Personal Use of a Firearm in a Felony (3 counts)
- Enhancement, not a standalone charge
- Penalty: Additional 3, 4, or 10 years per count added to the sentence for the underlying felony
Total Potential Exposure
If convicted on all counts and enhancements, Newton could face:
- Base sentence: Up to 15 years to life for human trafficking alone
- Plus: Up to 18 additional years for the firearm enhancements (3 counts × up to 6 years each)
- Plus: Additional time for pimping, pandering, and weapons charges
This could result in a de facto life sentence, depending on how the court imposes the terms (consecutively or concurrently).
