3rd suspect arrested in prostitution & human trafficking investigation
A third suspect wanted in connection to a human trafficking case out of Riverside County turned himself into police Friday morning.
The last identified suspect in the case was 31-year-old Dejuan Darsean Lewis. Deputies said he was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside where he’s being held without bail.
But, according to court documents, the victim told investigators that she was kidnapped by three men. So at this time, authorities believe there may still be one unknown suspect on the loose.
Ashley Gonzalez court document
Brandon Ellison court document
Moreno Valley teenager kidnapped in March of 2015
A near seven month long investigation led to the arrests of two suspected human traffickers Wednesday morning, accused of kidnapping a Moreno Valley teenager as she walked near a mall and forcing her into a life of prostitution.
The Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force announced the arrests of Brandon Ellison, 27, of Palm Desert and Ashley Gonzalez, 24.
Investigators say Ellison, Gonzalez and Dejuan Darsean Lewis, abducted an unnamed 15-year-old girl as she walked near the Moreno Valley Mall in March of 2015.
A search warrant was served Wednesday at an apartment along the 77100 block of California Drive in Palm Desert. That’s where police say the victim was taken by Ellison and Lewis where they then took provocative photographs of her.
A police statement said those photos were then used to advertise her for prostitution on an online classified advertisement website.
Gonzalez is accused of teaching the victim how to conduct prostitution.
The sheriffs department says the victim had daily quotas and was subjected to repeated beatings or sexual assaults by Lewis if she failed to bill a required amount of money for several months.
Police say the victim was sexually trafficked in Indio, Palm Springs, Rancho Cucamonga, and in Colton.
She escaped in May of 2015, and has since undergone counseling and therapy for her trauma.
Ellison was booked into the Riverside County Jail in Indio where he’s being held without bail and accused of human trafficking of a minor, pimping of a minor, and abduction of a minor for purposes of prostitution.
Gonzalez was booked into the countys’ Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta, her bail set at $250,000.00.
Lewis is being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside where he’s being held without bail at this time.
