SMC Man Recruited Underage Girl For Sex Work In SF: DA

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A Daly City man was charged in San Francisco with human trafficking involving a minor, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Tuesday.

Otis Broughton, 28, was charged with human trafficking involving a minor by force and pandering by encouraging, prosecutors said.

According to court documents, Broughton and another man were driving with the underage victim in the back seat around 11:32 p.m. Friday on Turk Street when San Francisco police stopped the vehicle.

Prosecutors said the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed and making unsafe lane changes before the stop.

The victim was reluctant to speak with officers in front of Broughton, but later told police she was a minor and had been participating in sex work, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said Broughton had picked her up in Oakland and driven her to multiple places in San Francisco. While in the car, the victim told Broughton several times, through tears, that she wanted to go home, but he did not take her home, according to court documents.

The victim's phone contained messages between her and Broughton indicating he was recruiting her to work as a sex worker for him, prosecutors said.

Broughton was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon at the Hall of Justice. Prosecutors said they planned to ask that he be held without bail pending trial, citing public safety concerns.

The case remains under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the San Francisco Police Department tip line at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD. Tips can remain anonymous.

Anyone who needs support can contact the San Francisco District Attorney's Office Victim Services Division at 628-652-4100, the San Francisco Bay Area Human Trafficking Hotline at 415-907-9911 or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.