Crime & Safety
Parolee Accused Of Pimping Teen In Riverside County, Judge Orders Trial
The defendant is charged with human trafficking, pimping, being a felon in possession of a firearm and contributing to minor's delinquency.
RIVERSIDE, CA — A parolee accused with his girlfriend of putting a runaway girl to work as a prostitute in Riverside and surrounding communities must stand trial on felony charges, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Michael Jay Johnson, 29, of Los Angeles was arrested last summer following a Riverside Police Department investigation that also implicated his co-defendant, 24-year-old Bonnie Edney Fingerson of Santa Clara.
At the end of a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Hollenhorst found there was sufficient evidence to bound Johnson over for trial on charges of human trafficking, pimping, being a felon in possession of a firearm and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The judge dismissed a count of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old.
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He did not immediately set another court date at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Johnson is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail at the Robert Presley Jail.
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Fingerson, who is free on an $85,000 bond, is slated for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 8. She's charged with human trafficking, pimping and recruiting a minor to engage in sex trafficking.
According to the police department, in May 2025, vice investigators came into contact with two teenage girls who had run away from a group home and told the detectives that, during the time they were on the streets, they had encountered the defendants.
One of the victims, whose identity was not disclosed, was allegedly coerced into working for the duo in an on-call sex services operation, police said.
"The reality is that when teens run away, they face immediate and serious risks," police Lt. Matt Lackey said. "Within hours, they can become targets for predators, fall victim to human trafficking, or be subjected to other violent crimes."
Detectives gathered sufficient evidence to procure arrest warrants for Johnson and Fingerson.
He was taken into custody without incident on Wilmington Avenue in Los Angeles on July 29, 2025. She was transferred to Riverside County from the Santa Clara County Jail on July 31, 2025.
Court records did not specify Johnson's prior felony convictions, and it was unclear whether Fingerson had any priors.
