Photo: Jason Whitney and Melinda Smith
A minor female victim who was used by two Inland Empire adults in pornographic sexual acts saw her abusers arrested by Rancho Cucamonga police on February 1st, 2019.
Deputies from the Rancho Cucamonga Police Department received notification of sexual acts being performed against the 10-year-old girl on January 31st. Investigation led police detectives to determine that the girl, with whom they had an extensive interview, had regularly been abused sexually since the summer of 2018 by Melinda Smith, aged 35, and Jason Whitney, aged 43.
Smith was a porn star actress, while Whitney was a porn film producer of sorts, who had worked with movies, web shows ,and award shows in the adult film industry. Smith’s stage name was Mercedes Carrera; Whitney used the moniker Jay Allan on social media, and, more widely in the pornography industry, the name Daemon Cins.
The two Rancho Cucamonga, California, residents had a bedroom in their house set up to film and create content for various smut films and websites, a Rancho Cucamonga Police Department media statement said.
Investigators found that Smith and Whitney had used the 10-year-old girl victim to further their work in the pornographic film production industry. Sexual acts performed against the child consisted of inappropriate touching, oral copulation and digital penetration. With a search warrant for the suspects’ home, on February 1st, detectives found evidence corroborating the victim’s statement. Detectives also found methamphetamine and two loaded handguns in the residence.
Police detectives detained the Smith and Whitney and transported them to the Rancho Cucamonga Station for interviews, after which they were arrested and booked into West Valley Detention Center on multiple charges of sexual acts against a child.
On February 5th, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office in Rancho Cucamonga reviewed their case and officially charged both Smith and Whitney with eight counts of sexual acts with a child under 10 years old, and one count of possession of controlled substance while armed with a handgun each. Both Smith and Whitney pleaded not guilty, were denied bail, and remained in custody.
Their arraignment was scheduled for February 6.
