On Tuesday, Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force Investigators received information about a 14-year-old girl who was being exploited for purposes of commercialized sex, according to the Anaheim Police Department.
Later that day, OCHTTF Investigators located the girl in Anaheim and initiated an investigation into who was responsible for trafficking her. OCHTTF Investigators were assisted by the California Highway Patrol Border Division’s Investigative Services Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Less than twelve (12) hours after receiving the information about the victim, the OCHTTF and assisting agencies recovered the victim and located the suspect who was responsible for trafficking her. Officers attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle being driven by the suspect, but the man failed to stop and led officers on a short vehicle pursuit. During the pursuit, the man, 36-year-old Marcus Boyd of Las Vegas, Nevada, fled from the vehicle on foot and was later arrested. Investigators searched the vehicle Boyd was driving and located a firearm suppressor.
Boyd was arrested for several offenses, including human trafficking a minor, pandering a minor, possession of a silencer (suppressor), evading a police officer, and other offenses, and booked into Anaheim Police Department’s Detention Facility.
On Thursday the Orange County District Attorney’s Office charged Boyd with PC 236.1(c) – Human Trafficking a Minor, PC 266i(a)/(b)(2) – Pandering a Minor Under 16 Years Old, PC 33410 – Possession of a Silencer, VC 2800.1(a) – Evading a Police Officer, and PC 148(a)(1) – Resisting and Obstructing a Police Officer. Boyd remains in custody and is being held in lieu of one million dollars bail.
This investigation illustrates the commitment of the OCHTTF and partnering agencies in locating and identifying victims of pimping or human trafficking. The Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force is co-chaired by the Anaheim Police Department and Waymakers. The lead agencies for the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force also include the California Highway Patrol, 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, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. For more information about the OCHTTF, visit https://www.ochumantrafficking.com.
A critical component of the OCHTTF is the OCDA’s Human Exploitation And Trafficking (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.
For more information about the @ochttf, please visit https://www.ochumantrafficking.com.
