NorCal Couple Sentenced For Selling Minor For Sex

NAPA COUNTY, CA — A Napa County couple was sentenced to California state prison this week in a sex trafficking case involving a girl they lured here from Georgia, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced.

Brandon Barrett, 27, and Tauzhanae Dowell, 26, operated out of their home in American Canyon and recruited the minor victim and other young women to take part in sex work throughout Northern California, the DA's Office said.

Barrett was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years and four months in state prison after pleading no contest to pandering a minor, assault with a deadly weapon, felon in possession of a firearm and resisting arrest.

Dowell was sentenced to seven years and four months in state prison after pleading no contest to pandering a minor, identity theft, and false personation.

The case began in October 2018 when a detective with the Napa Special Investigations Bureau became aware of potential human trafficking in Napa County. The investigation revealed a minor victim was lured to California from Georgia to work for Barrett and Dowell as a commercial sex worker, the DA's Office said.

"These criminals recruited a vulnerable child with false promises of affection and future wealth," said Napa County Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Macumber. "They asserted their dominance with the use of violence. "

The complex, extensive investigation further revealed the couple ran a "sophisticated illegal prostitution ring with several victims that operated throughout Northern California," the DA's Office said.

NSIB Detective Ken Van Dyke spearheaded the investigation which involved coordination between multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, American Canyon Police Department, San Francisco Police Department, Oakland Police Department, Sacramento Police Department, Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and law enforcement in the state of Wisconsin.

The Napa County District Attorney’s Office took the lead in prosecution, with the cooperation of District Attorneys in Alameda, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Mateo who ceded jurisdiction.

Under the sentences handed down Tuesday by Napa County Superior Court Judge Elia Ortiz, Barrett and Dowell must also register as sex offenders upon their release from prison.

The survivor, now an adult, "demonstrated incredible resilience and perseverance throughout the prosecution and bravely testified in court against her perpetrators," according to the DA's Office.

At the conclusion of the case, she told the court although she has emotional scars from the experience, she managed to achieve several of her goals. She has earned an associate's degree and reunified with her young child since returning home to Georgia.

"Under California law, the crime of 'pandering a minor' is the manipulative and cruel practice of influencing a child to become a commercial sex worker by way of threats, violence, or promises," Macumber said. "These sentences reflect the coordination of multiple law enforcement agencies under the excellent leadership of the Napa Special Investigations Bureau."