Man Who Prostituted Teens In Coachella Valley Sentenced To 16 Years

INDIO, CA — A 33-year-old man who prostituted minors throughout the Coachella Valley was sentenced Monday to 16 years and 8 months in state prison.

Dewayne Deanthony Williams of Indio was charged with three counts of inducing minors to work in sex-for-hire operations and one count each of human trafficking, lewd acts on a child and procuring a person for the purpose of prostitution, according to court records. He was also charged with a misdemeanor count of sexual battery.

He pleaded guilty May 18 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to two counts of inducing minors to work in sex-for-hire operations, lewd acts on a child and procuring a person for the purpose of prostitution. His remaining charges were dismissed.

According to a declaration in support of his arrest filed by Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigator Damen Butvidas, he received a report March 4, 2022, of suspected human trafficking involving a 16-year-old girl identified only as "V-1."

Three days after the report, V-1 said she had sex with Williams, when she was 15, so she could use his vehicle, Butvidas said. She also said that her 15-year-old friend, identified only as "V-2," gave the defendant a hand job in exchange for fentanyl pills.

Both incidents occurred at the parking lot of The Shops in Palm Desert — based on cell phone and Google historical information, the incident with V-1 happened Jan. 15, 2022, and the incident with V-2 happened prior to that — according to Butvidas.

On March 22, 2022, the investigator said he spoke with a third victim, identified only as "V-3," who said she fell asleep drunk in Williams' car at an unknown park in Indio when she was 14 years old.

"She said she woke up and saw/felt Williams reaching into her T-shirt from the collar," Butvidas wrote. "He touched her on her left breast under her bra."

On March 30, 2022, Butvidas spoke with a fourth victim, identified only as "V-4" who said she met Williams at a party in Indio when she was 16 and had sex with him in exchange for marijuana.
According to sheriff's officials, the defendant compelled girls to perform sexual services in Indio, Desert Hot Springs and Palm Desert.

The investigation that began March 4, 2022, by the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force culminated in an arrest warrant being served on the defendant at the San Ysidro crossing in San Diego County on April 21, 2022.

Williams has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.