A man accused of sexually assaulting or sexually trafficking eight girls as young as 13 years old was sentenced Tuesday to 281 years to life in state prison, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Raylonzo Roberts, 43, was convicted of 11 felony charges for abusing or trafficking the girls between August 2011 and July 2015, according to prosecutors. He was convicted in October.
Evidence presented during the trial showed Roberts had physically assaulted two of the young victims — one for leaving to work for another pimp and another because she didn’t make enough money, according to the DA’s office.
Roberts has been accused of being a self-proclaimed gang member and was tracked down by law enforcement following a seven-month-long investigation into the human trafficking of minors, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
He and another alleged gang member, Ulis Morris, used social media websites to “advertise, sell and sexually exploit the minors,” LAPD officials said in a news release. They allegedly took the girls to hotels and areas where prostitutes are known to loiter.
The victims are believed to be from areas of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, LAPD officials said.
The two men persuaded one of the girls to work as a prostitute on Long Beach Boulevard and along the Western Avenue and Figueroa corridor in South L.A., police said.
An LAPD news release from December 2016 indicates Roberts had already been found guilty of two counts human trafficking of minors and sentenced to 16 years in state prison.
The newest charges against him include human trafficking, lewd act on a child and pandering by procuring a minor under the age of 16.
The case was investigated by the Long Beach Police Department and Los Angeles Police Department’s South Bureau Human Trafficking Unit.
