SANTA ANA, Calif. – The 59-year-old CEO of Haliburton International Foods has been charged with engaging in prostitution with a 15-year old and 16-year-old. A 22-year-old woman has been charged with pimping and pandering for arranging to bring the underage girls to him for sex.
Ian Charles Schenkel, of Newport Beach, has been charged with one felony count of unlawful sexual intercourse, one felony count of sexual penetration with a foreign object with a victim under the age of 16, one felony count of oral copulation of a person under the age of 16, one felony count of a lewd act on a child 14 or 15 years old, one felony count of unlawful sex with a minor at least three years younger than the defendant, one felony count of sexual penetration with a foreign object of a victim under the age of 18, and two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution of a minor.
Schenkel was arrested and released on $100,000 bond. He faces a maximum sentence of eight years in state prison and 728 days in county jail if convicted on all counts. Schenkel also has an open driving under the influence case from November 2019 and an open case for a hit and run and driving on a suspended license from January 2020.
Amanda Emilia Perez, 22, of Huntington Beach, has been charged with one felony count of human trafficking of a victim under the age of 18, one felony count of pimping a prostitute under the age of 16, one felony count of pandering with a minor under the age of 16, one felony count of human trafficking of a victim under the age of 16, one felony count of pimping of a minor over the age of 16, and one felony count of pandering with a minor for the purposes of prostitution.
She was arrested and posted a $70,000 bond. Perez faces a maximum sentence of 14 years and eight months in state prison if convicted on all charges.
Newport Beach police began investigating the case in October 2019 when a man reported his teenage daughter had inappropriate sexual contact with Schenkel. Jane Doe #1 told police Perez would take her to meet men, including Schenkel, who would pay her to have sex and Perez would take a cut of the money. Perez is accused of bringing a second teenage girl to Schenkel, who paid the girl to have sex. Perez is also accused of taking a cut of that money.
Authorities are asking for the public’s help in identifying additional potential victims. Anyone with information is asked to call Newport Beach Police at 949-644-3790.
“The exploitation of children for sex acts shocks the public conscience,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “It is reprehensible and it is unlawful. We will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law and we will work to ensure the judicial system protects these vulnerable victims.”
If you or someone you know is the victim of human trafficking, please contact the OC Human Trafficking Task Force at 949-250-4058 or at www.ochumantrafficking.com.