A man suspected of physically assaulting an 18-year-old woman with a blow torch before forcing her to work as a prostitute has been charged, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said Monday.
Richard Jordan Sandoval, 24, was charged with “two felony counts of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, two felony counts of domestic battery with corporal injury, one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, or deceit, one felony count of human trafficking, one felony count of pandering by promise, threat, or violence to become a
prostitute, and one felony count of criminal threats,” according to a news release from the DA’s office.
The charges stem from an incident that began on July 8, when he allegedly physically assaulted “Jane Doe,” a woman who was involved romantically with the defendant, prosecutors said.
The victim attempted to run from Sandoval, but he allegedly followed her in a vehicle and threatening her with violence if she did not get in the car, the release stated. When she complied, Sandoval allegedly assaulted the woman again.
The following day, Sandoval is accused of driving the woman to a hotel in Garden Grove to force her to engage in commercial sex.
He allegedly burned the victim’s leg with a blow torch, then threatening to kill her if she did not comply with his demands, according to prosecutors.
Officers from the Garden Grove Police Department were contacted and went to the hotel where they arrested Sandoval, the release stated.
At the time of his arrest, the defendant allegedly had a large amount of cocaine, empty plastic bags, scales and a blow torch inside his car, according to the release.
He was scheduled to appear in a Westminster court next Monday.
Sandoval faces up 22 years and eight months in state prison if convicted on the charges.
