Local Men Caught Soliciting Prostitutes

EDITOR’S NOTE: Each month, the Orange County District Attorney’s office releases the name of “Johns” convicted of soliciting a prostitute. This is the official news release:

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office convicted five men in August 2014 of loitering with the intent to commit prostitution and/or agreeing to engage in prostitution.

The defendants in these cases approached a woman, whom they believed to be a prostitute, in areas known for prostitution and human trafficking. Some agreed to engage in commercial sex with a woman and were subsequently arrested by law enforcement.

The Santa Ana Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigated these cases. Deputy District Attorney Tina Patel of the HEAT Unit prosecuted these cases.

The defendants below each pleaded guilty to one or two misdemeanor counts each of loitering with the intent to commit prostitution or agreeing to engage in prostitution. The defendants were each sentenced up to three years informal probation, up to 10 days in jail with the possibility of Caltrans in lieu of jail, and must also submit to AIDS testing and education.

Some defendants must also submit to DNA testing and are required to donate up to $100 to the Victim Witness Emergency Fund plus penalty assessments.

• Carlos Gonzalez, 54, Anaheim

• Minh Van Nguyen, 53, Mission Viejo

• John Michael Ray, 55, Dana Point

• Alan Garcia Rodriguez, 28, Orange

• Jeffrey Allen Turlis, 42, Huntington Beach

These cases were prosecuted by the OCDA Human Exploitation And Trafficking Unit, which targets perpetrators who sexually exploit and traffic women and underage girls for financial gain, including pimps, panderers, and human traffickers. Commercial sex trafficking is the second most lucrative criminal enterprise behind narcotics trafficking. Often the perpetrators are gang members and/or career criminals.

Members of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force and OCDA work proactively to protect women and minors from falling victim to commercial sexual exploitation. These cases were investigated by OCHTTF, a partnership between the Anaheim Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Huntington Beach Police Department, OCDA, OCSD, and community and non-profit partners.

PHOTO Image via Shutterstock.