L.A. man tried to pimp an O.C. teen on social media but she turned out to be a cop

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

November 17, 2016

Case # 15NF3354

LOS ANGELES MAN CONVICTED AND SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON FOR ATTEMPTING TO PIMP AND PANDER MINOR ON SOCIAL MEDIA

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Los Angeles man was convicted and sentenced to three years in state prison today for attempting to pimp and pander an undercover police officer, whom he believed to be a minor, on a social media website. Michael Joseph Mata, 34, pleaded guilty to one felony count of attempted pimping of a minor and one felony count of pandering by procuring.

Circumstances of the Case

Mata is a pimp who exploits women for financial gain. With the rise in popularity of social media and ease of meeting people on the Internet, many pimps and human traffickers utilize a variety of social media to locate potential victims. Victims are often required to turn over all payment they receive for sex acts from sex purchasers to their pimp.

Between Oct. 10, 2015, and Dec. 16, 2015, Mata used a social media website to contact an undercover officer, whom he believed to be a 17-year-old girl. The defendant tried to recruit the officer to perform commercial sex acts for his benefit. The defendant arranged to meet with the officer and was subsequently arrested by the Orange Human Trafficking Task Force (OCHTTF) at the arranged meeting spot.

Members of the OCHTTF and the Orange County District Attorney’s (OCDA) Office work proactively to protect women and minors from falling victim to commercial sexual exploitation. This case was investigated by OCHTTF, a partnership between Anaheim Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Costa Mesa Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Huntington Beach Police Department, Irvine Police Department, Newport Beach Police Department, OCDA, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Santa Ana Police Department, and community and non-profit partners.

Deputy District Attorney Bryan Clavecilla of the HEAT Unit prosecuted this case.

Proposition 35 and HEAT

To read more about California’s anti-human trafficking Proposition 35 and the OCDA’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit, please visit www.orangecountyda.org and select Human Trafficking Information from the Media Center drop down menu.

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TONY RACKAUCKAS, District Attorney

Susan Kang Schroeder, Chief of Staff
Office: 714-347-8408
Cell: 714-292-2718

Public Affairs Unit
Office: 714-347-8405

Art Pedroza Editor

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

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