Crime & Safety
Fresno Man Arrested After Human Trafficking Victim Found In Hotel
A 26-year-old man has been arrested after police in Vallejo found a juvenile who was the alleged victim of human trafficking at a hotel.
VALLEJO, CA — A 26-year-old Fresno man has been arrested after police in Vallejo found a juvenile who was the alleged victim of human trafficking at a hotel there.
Vallejo police on Tuesday announced the arrest of Justen Allen Powell and said his arrest came a day after officers received information from a family member that a juvenile was being held and sexually exploited at a hotel in the 400 block of Fairgrounds Drive.
Officers arrived and ensured the juvenile's safety, and a records check determined that the juvenile was missing out of Riverside County. Officers found a man standing outside of a room associated with the juvenile and identified him as Powell, who had a prior conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, police said.
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Investigators determined that the juvenile had been transported to multiple locations in the Los Angeles region and then Fresno, Richmond, and Vallejo, and was sexually assaulted. The juvenile was taken to a hospital for treatment and for a sexual assault evaluation, and is now in the custody of child protective services, according to police.
Powell was booked into Solano County Jail on suspicion of pimping and pandering, corporal injuries to a child, false imprisonment, kidnapping, and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, police said.
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