Three men charged with trafficking teenage girls in Santa Ana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Case # 18CF2249

THREE MEN CHARGED WITH TRAFFICKING 16-YEAR-OLD AND 17-YEAR-OLD GIRLS

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Three men were charged yesterday with trafficking 16-year-old and 17-year-old girls.

Defendants:

• Rafael Montano, 18, Pittsburg, CA
• Ivan Ulises Zamora, 18, Oakland

Charged on Aug. 9, 2018 with the following felony counts:

• (2) Trafficking of a minor
• Pimping a minor
  (2) Pandering with a minor over 16 years old by procuring
• Attempted pimping of a minor
• Sentencing Enhancement
  • Trafficking by force/fear

Maximum Sentence: Life in state prison

Pre-trial hearing on Aug. 17, 2018, 8:30 a.m. at Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana

Defendant:

Jonathan Deanda, 19, Pittsburg, CA

• (2) Trafficking of a minor
• Pimping a minor
• (2) Pandering with a minor over 16 years old by procuring
• Attempted pimping of a minor

Maximum Sentence: 14 years and eight months in state prison

Pre-trial hearing on Aug. 17, 2018, 8:30 a.m. at Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana

Montano, Zamora, and Deanda are accused of being human traffickers/pimps who exploit women 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

Circumstances of the Case

• Between Aug. 2, 2018 and Aug. 6, 2018, Montano, Zamora, and Deanda are accused of trafficking, pimping, and pandering 17-year-old Jane Doe 1 and 16-year-old Jane Doe 2.
• The defendants are accused of recruiting Jane Doe 1 through social media.
• Montano, Zamora, and Deanda are further accused of driving both victims from Pittsburg, California to Orange County with the intent of making them engage in commercial sex for the defendant’s financial gain.
• Montano is accused of grabbing Jane Doe 1 by the neck, strangling her, and forcing her to work when she attempted to go home.
• Deanda is accused of driving Jane Doe 1 to an area known for prostitution and human trafficking in Orange County.
• Montano and Zamora are accused of supervising the victim while she engaged in commercial sex and collecting the money she earned.
• On Aug. 6, 2018, the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) contacted Jane Doe 1 on the street in Santa Ana.
• SAPD identified her as a victim of human trafficking and officers located the hotel where Montano, Zamora, and Deanda were staying. SAPD found the defendants in a hotel room with Jane Doe 2 and arrested them at the scene.
• 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, Homeland Security Investigations, Irvine Police Department, Newport Beach Police Department, OCDA, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, SAPD, and community and non-profit partners.

Prosecutor: Senior Deputy District Attorney Bradley Schoenleben, HEAT Unit

Pimps often establish rigid rules their victims are expected to follow including requiring victims to speak only when spoken to, address the pimp as “Sir” or “Daddy,” assigning seats in the car based on “rank,” 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.

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.