Woman refused man’s advances, then he forced her into sex work, CA officials say
A man grew hostile with a woman when she refused his advances and then forced her into sex work, California officials said, and now he’s been convicted of multiple charges.
Elon Ocyris Whitaker, 40, from Vallejo, was found guilty of human trafficking for sexual exploitation and other charges following a trial, Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni said in a June 5 news release.
Whitaker is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorney June 6 and was awaiting a response.
Whitaker became friends with the woman and sometimes gave her gifts, prosecutors said.
But when she turned him down romantically, he demanded to be paid back, according to prosecutors. He made her braid hair to earn money, but “when the income from hair braiding did not meet his demands, he escalated his control by forcing her to engage in commercial sex work and took all the earnings for himself,” prosecutors said.
In one instance, the woman couldn’t access money “from the ‘buyer’ fast enough,” enraging Whitaker, prosecutors said. He wouldn’t let her leave the motel they were in, prosecutors said.
The woman called 911 in February from a motel in Marina, and dispatchers heard a man “yelling about giving him money,” according to prosecutors. Police responded, and “Whitaker answered the door and (the woman) emerged from the bathroom crying hysterically,” prosecutor said.
Prosecutors praised the woman, saying she “bravely” sought help and “courageously testified.”
Vallejo is about a 32-mile drive north from San Francisco.
.JPG)