Man tried to recruit a teen online to pimp in Orange County, but she was a cop

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Case # 15NF1695

January 12, 2018

MAN SENTENCED TO 16 YEARS IN PRISON FOR USING FACEBOOK IN ATTEMPT TO RECRUIT UNDERAGE TEENAGE GIRL TO WORK AS PROSTITUTE

*The underage teenage girl in this case was an account belonging to an undercover officer

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was sentenced to 16 years in state prison today for using Facebook in an attempt to recruit an undercover officer posing as an underage teenage girl to work for him as a prostitute.

Defendant: Donald Levan Clark, 27, Los Angeles

Found guilty by a jury on Dec. 5, 2017, of the following felony counts:

• Human trafficking of a minor
• Attempted pimping of a minor
• Pandering
• Sentencing Enhancements:
  • Prior strike conviction for robbery in Los Angeles County in 2011
  • Prior prison conviction for felony false imprisonment in Los Angeles County in 2013

Sentence:

• 16 years in state prison
• Sex offender registration pursuant to Penal Code 290

Circumstances of the Case

• Clark is a human trafficker/pimp who exploits women and/or children 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.
• Between May 27, 2015, and June 17, 2015, Clark used Facebook and contacted 17-year-old Jane Doe 1, who was an undercover officer, to work for the defendant as a prostitute. Clark ordered Jane Doe 1 to pay him a fee in order to work for him as a prostitute.
• On June 17, 2015, members of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force (OCHTTF) located and arrested the defendant in Los Angeles.

Over a dozen members of various anti-human trafficking organizations attended the sentencing today to show their support for increased sentences in cases where defendants recruit victims online.

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

Deputy District Attorney Kelly Manley of the HEAT Unit prosecuted this case.

Proposition 35 and HEAT

To read more about California’s anti-human trafficking Proposition 35 (Prop 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

Michelle Van Der Linden,Spokesperson
Office: 714-347-8405
Cell: 714-323-4486