Man charged with pimping two women and a boy in Costa Mesa

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

December 1, 2016

Case # 16CF3024, 16WF0849, 16CF2991

CORONA MAN ARRAIGNED FOR PIMPING AND PANDERING TWO WOMEN AND 17-YEAR-OLD BOY IN COSTA MESA THEN ASSAULTING AND FURNISHING METH TO THE MINOR

*Co-defendant charged with dissuading witnesses for contacting the victims on behalf of the incarcerated man

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Corona man was arraigned yesterday for pimping and pandering two women and a 17-year-old boy in Costa Mesa, then assaulting and furnishing meth to the minor. Kenneth Wayne Phillips, 28, was charged on Nov. 29, 2016, with one felony count of human trafficking of a minor, one felony count of pimping a minor, one felony count of pandering a minor over 16 by promise, threat, or violence, one felony count of furnishing methamphetamine to a minor, three felony counts of dissuading a witness, and three felony counts of violation of a protective order, with a sentencing enhancement for crime-bail-crime. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 16 years in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. Phillips is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on Dec. 7, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

On April 26, 2016, Phillips was charged in case #16WF0849 with one felony count of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, one felony count of false imprisonment, one felony count of second degree robbery, two felony counts of pimping, one felony count of pandering by procuring, one felony count of pandering, one felony count of forcible rape, and one felony count of human trafficking, with a sentencing enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury. He is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on Jan. 23, 2017, in Department C-5, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

Co-defendant Taylor Dahnielle Langley, 26, Corona, was charged in case #16CF2991 on Nov. 22, 2016, with three felony counts of dissuading a witness from prosecuting a crime. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of three years in state prison. Her next court date is to be determined.

Circumstances of the Case

Phillips is accused of being a human trafficker/pimp who exploits women and/or children for financial gain. Pimps often establish rigid rules that their victims are expected to follow including requiring victims to speak only when spoken to, address the pimp as “Sir” or “Daddy,” and setting daily quotas that the victims are expected to fulfill. The victims are required to turn over all payment they receive for sex acts from sex purchasers to their pimp. Failure to follow these rules can result in deprivation of food and/or physical and/or emotional abuse.

Between April 8, 2016, and April 22, 2016, Phillips is accused of pimping and pandering 24-year-old Jane Doe 1 from various motels in Orange County.

On April 15, 2016, the defendant is accused of forcibly raping 18-year-old Jane Doe 2. For approximately one week, until April 22, 2016, Phillips is accused of human trafficking, pimping, and pandering the victim by procuring. The defendant is accused of robbing and falsely imprisoning Jane Doe 2 at a motel in Costa Mesa.

Phillips is also accused of pimping and pandering 17-year-old John Doe by providing methamphetamine in exchange for all money John Doe received from sex purchasers through prostitution. On April 22, 2016, at approximately 2:30 p.m., the defendant is accused of battering and assaulting John Doe in the parking structure of the Costa Mesa motel, causing great bodily injury to the victim. The victims contacted the Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD), who arrested Phillips at the scene.

Between April and August 2016, Phillips is accused of having a romantic relationship with co-defendant Langley, contacting her from Orange County Jail through calls and letters, and instructing her to contact all three victims to dissuade them from participating as witnesses. Between April 27, 2016, and June 12, 2016, Langley is accused of reaching out to Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, and John Doe through social media and attempting to dissuade them.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) Bureau of Investigation was alerted by a citizen of the unlawful communication, which violated a restraining order that protected the victims from being contacted by the defendant.

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 is prosecuting 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.

###

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