3 Arrested On Suspicion Of Luring Woman Into Human Trafficking Ring With Fake Birthday Party Invitation
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Authorities have arrested three people they say began trafficking a Southland woman after fooling her into thinking she was going to a birthday party.
Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives say the 20-year-old woman left her mother's home in the city of Paramount Feb. 26 for a birthday party for a longtime co-worker. The young woman got into a car with the co-worker and two men who detectives say dropped off the co-worker and then viciously assaulted the young woman.
Two days later, deputies say the victim phoned her mother and said she was in Oakland. When her mother immediately questioned the unannounced trip and asked when she would return, the victim said she could not talk and hung up, according to Sheriff's Deputy Lillian Peck.
The woman was then driven to Oakland and advertised online for sex, Peck said. She was rescued from a Buena Park motel room March 1 after the two men brought her back to Southern California and she called her mother for help.
A female suspect, later identified as 22-year-old Monique Butler, and two men, Chad Miller, 27, and Rico Clayton, 28, have been arrested.
Investigators say there is some evidence the suspects may operate as far north as Portland, Oreg., and Oakland, as well as the Los Angeles/Orange County area.
Deputies on Wednesday said the victim was more fortunate than other victims of human trafficking, who are often not rescued as quickly.
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