OAKLAND (BCN) — Four young men were sentenced Monday to state prison terms ranging from 10 to 24 years for their roles in the sexual assault and human trafficking charges of four Oakland girls who were between the ages of 13 and 17.
Prosecutor Amanda Chavez, who described the case as “horrific,” said the men lured the girls to a house on 14th Avenue in East Oakland and then trafficked them or raped or attempted to rape them. Some of the girls were gang raped, she said.
Before he sentenced the men, Alameda County Judge C. Don Clay said they could have faced life in prison if their case had gone to trial and they had been convicted of all the charges against them so they were fortunate that their attorneys negotiated a plea agreement that calls for them to be eventually released.
“At least you know you’ll go home some day,” Clay said.
The incidents that were charged in the case occurred between December 2013 and May 2014 and the suspects were arrested last summer after a lengthy investigation by Oakland police and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, Chavez said.
The four defendants preyed on the girls because of their young ages and because some of them were vulnerable because they didn’t really have homes, she said.
The investigation began when one of the victims deliberately shoplifted some items from a store at the Bayfair Center Shopping Mall in San Leandro on May 9, 2014, so she could get arrested and tell authorities about the human trafficking and sexual assaults, Chavez said.
Chavez was prepared to have all four victims testify at a preliminary hearing in March but the defendants decided to enter their no contest pleas after only two of them testified.
Isaiah Seymour, 22, described by Chavez as the ringleader in the case, was charged with trafficking three girls along with 15 sexual assault-related offenses. He pleaded no contest to several human trafficking and rape-related offenses and was sentenced to 24 years in state prison.
Gary Holt, 20, was charged with trafficking one minor along with six sexual assault-relates offenses. He pleaded to several rape-related offenses and was sentenced to 15 years.
Delvahn Mosley-Davis, 20, was charged with 15 sexual assault-related offenses involving three of the victims. He pleaded to several rape-related offenses and was also sentenced to 15 years.
Matthew Brito, 26, was charged with 12 sexual assault-related offenses involving one of the victims. He pleaded to several rape-related offenses and was sentenced to 10 years.
Seymour and Mosley-Davis both tried to fire their lawyers and withdraw their no-contest pleas today but Clay denied their motions, saying they were untimely.
Before his motion was denied, Mosley-Davis said, “I’m pleading innocent to the charges against me. I feel like I wasn’t represented right by my attorney.”
Mosely-Davis said, “I should either get a better plea bargain or go to trial because I know I wasn’t involved. The only thing that happened is that I had consensual sex with one of the victims.”
But Clay said the quality of the testimony by the two victims who testified was very convincing and he thinks all four men would have had “a very difficult uphill battle” if the case had gone to trial.
Clay also said a video of Mosley-Davis having sex with one of the victims provided convincing evidence of his guilt.
Clay said, “You can’t tell me that was consensual, I don’t think so.”
One of the victims in the case said in a letter that was addressed to all of the defendants except Brito and read aloud in court that, “I have not forgiven you for all of the torture you put me through. You took something from me that I can never can get back.”
The girl said, “I hurt so much that I wish the worst on you.”
The victim’s mother said in a separate letter read in court that also was addressed to all of the defendants except Brito, “You animals took something from my daughter that she’ll never get back.”
The mother said Seymour, Mosley-Davis and Holt “are animals who should stay caged up.”
But Clay said, “None of these young men are animals. They are human beings who made horrible mistakes.”
Before he was sentenced, Holt stood up and apologized for his actions, saying, “I’m mad at myself for being involved in any of it.”
Mosley-Davis’ attorney Darryl Stallworth said after the hearing that the case involved “a tragic set of events” and he’s glad that it’s been resolved.
Stallworth said, “I’m hopeful that my client will be able to learn from this decision and still have enough time when he’s released to become a law-abiding citizen. That’s what I believe.”