On Tuesday, September 1st, Los Angeles Police, along with the Human Trafficking Task Force, Long Beach PD’s Human Trafficking Unit, and the LAPD Vice Unit, charged 40-year-old Los Angeles suspect Raylonzo Roberts with a total of 14 felony counts related to commercial sex trafficking.
According to the report, six of Roberts’ counts were from sex trafficking of teenage girls as young as 13-years-old, two counts of pandering a minor for sex, two counts of aggravated sexual assault in a child, three counts of lewd acts on a child, and one count of assault with a firearm. He was found to have engaged in sexually trafficking eight girls from August of 2011 until July of 2015.
Investigators also determined that of the eight girls Roberts was trafficking or sexually assaulting, he also physically assaulted two of them. One girl was assaulted because she was not making enough money, and another because she left Roberts to go work for another pimp. He was also charged with assault with a firearm on a ninth victim, a 23-year-old female, on March 23, 2015.
Roberts pleaded not guilty to the court and is scheduled to have another hearing on September 14, where it will be determined if there is enough evidence to have him stand trial. He faces life in prison if found guilty.
The case is still under investigation and detectives believe that there still may be additional victims.
Anyone with information regarding these crimes is encouraged to contact LAPD’s Operations South Bureau Human Trafficking Task Force at (213) 926-3963.
Roberts’ history of arrests include a charge in December of 2013 for shooting at an inhabited dwelling or vehicle. In January of 2014 he was arrested by the Los Angeles Police for soliciting prostitution.
