Stockton Man Gets 17-Year Prison Sentence For Child Sex Trafficking
SACRAMENTO (CBS SF) -- A Stockton man was sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence Monday following his conviction on child sex trafficking.
Lucious James Roy, was sentenced to 17 years and seven months in prison for conspiracy to engage in child sex trafficking, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California Phillip Talbert announced in a press statement.
According to court documents, between September 2018 and November 2018, Roy recruited a 17-year-old victim outside of a high school and used social media to recruit a 16-year-old victim, then groomed them to perform sex acts in exchange for money that he kept, using threats of violence to control them.
Roy and accused co-conspirator Dawniel Santangelo, 43, of Stockton, also created online prostitution advertisements featuring the victims and drove them around to motel rooms Northern California, including Oakland, Ripon, Salinas and Stockton.
Roy was arrested in May 2019 in Oregon after he and Santangelo were found in a hotel room with a 15-year-old runaway from Modesto. At the time, the two were under investigation for the sex trafficking of the two other minors, and prosecutors in San Joaquin County and Jackson County, Oregon dismissed their cases in favor of federal prosecution, Talbert said.
"Today's sentence is necessary due to the defendant's long criminal history and to protect the public from future crimes," said Talbert. "He used intimidation and threats to keep his victims compliant and afraid to seek help. His willingness and ability to recruit children and coerce them to engage in prostitution for his financial benefit puts the public in danger."
Charges are pending against Santangelo, who is scheduled for trial beginning July 27.