By PAUL ANDERSON
SANTA ANA — A 36-year-old man was convicted Wednesday of human trafficking of a 17-year-old runaway and pandering two other women in Orange County.
Xavier Dashea Washington was convicted of human trafficking of a minor, one count of pandering a minor older than 16, two counts of pandering, a count of attempting to prevent a victim from prosecuting, all felonies, and a misdemeanor count of contempt of court for disobeying a court order.
Jurors acquitted Washington of one count of attempted pandering and a count of possession of a firearm by a felon, both felonies.
During the trial, charges of pimping a minor older than 17, human trafficking, pimping and pandering were dismissed along with sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a gun.
Washington was scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 6.
The investigation of the defendant began in October 2021 when a detective contacted an Orange County investigator about a 17-year-old runaway, Deputy District Attorney Taylor Krone said in his opening statement of the trial.
The investigator was able to track down where the victim might be through her Snapchat profile, Krone said.
“We’re here today because that man was tirelessly using Instagram” and other social media “to recruit girls who were vulnerable to work for him as prostitutes,” Krone said, pointing to the defendant.
Washington “could be very, very charming when he wants to be,” Krone said. The defendant had “hundreds and hundreds” of messages between him and the four victims, Krone added.
In addition to the 17-year-old girl, the other women were 19 and 20 years old when they worked as prostitutes for the defendant, Krone said.
Investigators tracked the underage victim to an apartment complex at 293 State College Blvd. “They knocked on doors” to track the teen down and returned the next day when they found her thanks to surveillance that had been set up, Krone said.
Police were able to get statements from two of the alleged victims, but the 20-year-old refused to talk to investigators, Krone said. On Oct. 21, 2021, authorities had to use a battering ram to get access to a hotel room where she was staying, Krone said. By the time investigators were able to contact her she had smashed her phone “to smithereens,” according to the prosecutor.
During the search the investigators allegedly found a Glock the defendant was accused of possessing.
Washington spent months recruiting the underage victim, Krone said. He would tell her “I’m a pimp, but I’m a gentleman,” the prosecutor alleged.
While the defendant was behind bars authorities recorded phone calls he made telling the teen to delete the Zoom application off her device so she could skip a court hearing, which she did, Krone said.
Washington was previously convicted of attempted pimping, according to court papers.
The 17-year-old told police Washington would threaten to hit her and would also use the gun to control the others, Krone said in court papers.
After one of her acts of prostitution, the defendant sent her a “trophy emoji” and told her he was “proud” of her, Krone said.
The teen told police she initially lied about her age, but later told him she was underage, Krone said in court papers. But, Krone told jurors, “Being mistaken about her age is not a defense in this case.”
Washington’s attorney, Jazmine Torres of the Orange County Public Defender’s Office, said the case “is not as simple as the prosecution wants it to be seen.”
Torres said, “In reality, we’re not dealing with your typical 19- and 20-year-olds.”
The defense attorney added, “No one here is going to say Xavier is an angel,” but she added, “What you’re not going to hear is he physically coerced anyone.”
Washington did not force the women to do anything they didn’t want to do, Torres said.
“It’s a subculture,” she said of the prostitution ring.
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