Three people were charged with 54 counts of felony human and sex trafficking Thursday, according to a statement from California Attorney General Xavier Beccera.
Quinton Brown, 30, Gerald Turner, 32, and Mia McNeil, 32, were charged after a six-month investigation revealed their alleged criminal activities. The trio has been accused of sex trafficking, pimping, pandering, identity and grand theft, according to the California Department of Justice.
Law enforcement arrested Brown and Turner, but McNeil is still at large.
Juvenile victims ranging from ages 15 to 17, and adults from 18 to 21, were allegedly lured by Brown from the Central Valley and allegedly trafficked for sex from central to southern California, Nevada and Texas, according to a statement.
Authorities said there are 13 victims total, eight of which are minors.
The investigation is one of the largest scale human trafficking cases on the West Coast, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
Agents throughout the state work hard to keep Californians safe from exploitation, said Beccera in a statement.
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“I want to thank our law enforcement partners for their efforts over the course of this six-month investigation to bring these defendants to justice,” said Beccera.
The investigation involved multiple parties from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Human Trafficking Task Force and the California Department of Justice.
