Orange County District Attorney Press Release
For Immediate Release: December 9, 2013
29 MEN CONVICTED OF LOITERING, SOLICITING, OR AGREEING TO ENGAGE IN PROSTITUTION IN NOVEMBER
SANTA ANA – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) convicted 29 men of loitering, soliciting, or agreeing to engage in prostitution in November 2013. The defendants in these cases approached a woman, whom they believed to be a prostitute, in areas known for prostitution in Orange County. They agreed to engage in commercial sex, loitered with intent to commit prostitution, or solicited another to engage in prostitution with a woman or an undercover officer and were subsequently arrested by law enforcement.
Garden Grove Police Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and Santa Ana Police Department investigated these cases. Deputy District Attorney Michael Bardeen of the HEAT Unit prosecuted these cases.
Jason Aaron Baca, 40, Westminster, was found guilty by a jury, Nov. 19, 2013, of one misdemeanor count of loitering with intent to commit prostitution and sentenced to two months in jail, three years informal probation, and must submit to AIDS testing and education.
Fred Farokh Hadjin, 65, Santa Monica, was found guilty by a jury, Nov. 25, 2013, of one misdemeanor count of agreeing to engage in prostitution. He was sentenced Dec. 4, 2013, to three years of informal probation, and must submit to AIDS testing and education and required to donate to the Victim/Witness Emergency fund.
The defendants below each pleaded guilty in November 2013 to either one misdemeanor count of agreeing to engage in prostitution, loitering with the intent to commit prostitution, or soliciting another to engage in prostitution. The defendants below were each sentenced up to three years informal probation, up to 15 days in jail with the possibility of CalTrans in lieu of jail, must submit to AIDS testing and education, and some were required to donate to the Victim/Witness Emergency fund.
· Isael Acosta, 28, Buena Park
· Julio Cesar Alcala, 19, Santa Ana
· Ivan Banos, 21, Tustin
· Wiley Anthony Beasley, 60, Lake Forest
· Pedro Julio Benitez, 29, Tustin
· Daniel Catalan, 44, Tustin, was sentenced to three years informal probation, 30 days in jail, and must submit to AIDS testing and education.
· Gilberto Ochoa Cortes, 38, Riverside
· Danny Diaz, 18, Garden Grove
· Marco Diaz, 19, Westminster
· Sebastian Hernandez-Yohol, 36, Costa Mesa
· Fernando Hernandez-Zamorano, 27, Santa Ana
· Chang Young Lee, 21, Cerritos
· Niculae Lita, 39, Garden Grove
· Saul Macias, 32, Santa Ana
· Jesus Manuel Mendez, 54, Santa Ana
· David Montano, 31, Anaheim
·Fidel Nieto-Moreno, 55, Santa Ana
· John Andrew Olivares, 20, Santa Ana
· Jose Mariano Perez, 23, Garden Grove
· Sergio Waldemar Quinones, 38, Moreno Valley
· Refugio Padilla Robles, 50, Santa Ana
· Robert Andrew Rounds, 49, Simi Valley
· Angel Galindo Velez, 21, Anaheim, pleaded guilty to a court offer and was sentenced to six days in jail.
· Christopher Allen Witts, 29, Fountain Valley
The defendants below each pleaded guilty in November 2013 to either one misdemeanor count of agreeing to engage in prostitution, loitering with the intent to commit prostitution, or soliciting another to engage in prostitution with a prior conviction.
· Michael Jack Carrillo, 46, Santa Ana, was sentenced to 45 days in jail.
· David Pena Orozco, 33, Tustin, was sentenced to three years informal probation, 45 days in jail, and must submit to AIDS testing and education.
· Ahmand Carter Young, 38, Santa Ana, was sentenced to three years informal probation, 45 days in jail with the possibility of CalTrans in lieu of jail, and must submit to AIDS testing and education.
These case were prosecuted by the OCDA 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. Commercial sex trafficking is the second most lucrative criminal enterprise behind narcotics trafficking. Often the perpetrators are gang members and/or career criminals.
The HEAT Unit also targets defendants who create a demand for prostitution by soliciting and purchasing sex, which increases the commercial sexual exploitation of women and children. The HEAT Unit uses a tactical plan called PERP: Prosecution of human trafficking perpetrators and sex purchasers; Education for law enforcement to properly handle human trafficking and pandering cases; Resources to raise public awareness and provide assistance to the victims; and Publicity to inform the community about the problem and notify human traffickers and sex purchasers that this crime cannot be perpetrated without suffering severe consequences.
The OCDA announced in April 2013 that he will publicize the names of defendants convicted of sexually exploiting women or children by soliciting sex acts as part of the campaign to reduce the demand of human exploitation and trafficking.
A press release will be sent out once a month detailing the arrests and convictions of sex purchasers.
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Tony Rackauckas, District Attorney 401 Civic Center Drive West Santa Ana, CA 92701
Contacts:
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718
Farrah Emami Spokesperson Office: 714-347-8405 Cell: 714-323-4486
