ORANGE COUNTY (BCN) — An Orange County judge sentenced a Contra Costa County man on Wednesday to five years and eight months in prison on charges of sex trafficking, pimping and pandering, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
El Sobrante resident Laton Lateef Belle, 29, met a 25-year-old woman in Aug. 2013 through a website known for prostitution and escort services, according to prosecutors.
Belle suggested the woman go with him to Orange County, where he said he could make her a lot of money, prosecutors said.
Belle drove the woman to Anaheim, while he set out certain rules for her to follow and told her how much to charge for various sex acts. He
told the woman he would keep all of her money in exchange for providing everything she needed, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said it’s common for a pimp or “modern-day slave owner” to exploit women for financial gain by establishing rigid rules that the women are expected to follow, including establishing daily quotas or prohibiting them from speaking to certain men.
Over the course of three days in Aug. 2013, Belle told the woman to perform sex acts for money on various customers and collected the money they paid her, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Belle refused to turn over any money to the woman and threatened her by telling her that he knew people who have killed other people and knows where she lives.
He spoke to her on the phone in an aggressive manner and prosecutors said the woman didn’t feel free to leave.
On Aug. 8, 2013, an undercover Anaheim police officer contacted the woman and the defendant was arrested the same day, according to prosecutors.
On May 8, Belle pleaded guilty to one felony count each of human trafficking, attempted pimping and pandering, according to prosecutors.