American Canyon Man, 19, Arrested At Local Motel For Alleged Pimping Of Girl, 16

A 19-year-old American Canyon man was arrested this week at a Fairfield motel for the alleged sex trafficking of a 16-year-old girl.

The Fairfield Police Department on Wednesday received a tip from another law enforcement agency that the man and child were in the area, and investigators found several Internet advertisements confirming the girl was being commercially sexually exploited, police said.

Detectives from Fairfield PD’s Family Violence Unit collaborated with the department’s Narcotics Unit and Special Operations Team, and surveillance was set up at a home in American Canyon, police said.

Detectives tracked the victim and the male, identified as Robert Patterson, to a Fairfield motel where they were taken into custody, police said.

The girl was placed into protective custody with Solano County’s Child Welfare Services.

Patterson was arrested for suspicion of human trafficking and pimping and booked into the Solano County Jail.

A follow-up warrant search of the American Canyon residence produced evidence that the child was transported throughout the state for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, police said.

Resources to conduct these investigations and provide services to victims are provided by a grant from the California Office of Emergency Services. Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call the Fairfield Police Department Major Crimes Unit at (707) 428-7600, the 24-hour Tip Line at (707) 428-7345 or Crime Stoppers at (707) 644-7867. Callers can remain anonymous.