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Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?
What happened
Samuel Martinez Gonzalez, 26, of Santa Ana, Calif., was charged in a criminal complaint filed August 15, 2011 in U.S. District Court with transporting minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, one of the teens told investigators that Martinez invited them to go to California to "go to the beach." After arriving in California, the affidavit describes how the defendant took the girls shopping for “hoochie” dresses and high heels for their "job." The affidavit alleges that, in addition to the three Texas teens, Martinez had a fourth minor in his custody who was already working for him as a prostitute. At the time of his arrest, Martinez was accompanied by three females, including one of the teenage girls from Texas. The affidavit states that approximately one hour later, HSI agents and officers from the Orange Police Department located the two other missing teens in a motel room in Orange, California. According to the court document, the girls - who are 15 and 16 years old - told agents they were relieved they had been rescued and looked forward to being reunited with their families. During the probe, investigators found receipts in Gonzalez’s wallet for condoms and empty boxes of condoms in the motel room. Investigators also picked up a call to his cell phone from someone who wanted to arrange sexual services.
Response and intervention
The federal investigation into Martinez is being conducted by ICE HSI, which is working closely with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, as well as with the Orange (California) Police Department and the Irving (Texas) Police Department. The girls were reported missing August 12, 2011 after relatives in Irving, Texas, said they had received calls from the 15- to 16-year-old girls saying they were staying in a motel in Orange County with a man they met through a friend. The mother of two of the girls told authorities that her daughters called to say they were being forced to take drugs and work as prostitutes, according to a federal affidavit. The relative contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to report the missing teenagers, indicating they might be in Orange County, California. Later that day, local authorities in Texas met with the mother of two of the girls, who provided a phone number. Investigators traced the calls to a cell phone belonging to Samuel Martinez Gonzalez, and tracked it to an area off Interstate 5 in Santa Ana. There they spotted Martinez walking with three young women, including one who was reported missing, the affidavit said. Investigators believed two young women who were with Gonzalez when he was arrested were already working for him as prostitutes. One of these women was believed to be 18 years old and the other was underage. Martinez was arrested August 12, 2011 as he walked down Elk Lane near Interstate 5 in Santa Ana. About an hour later, investigators were led to a motel room in nearby Orange where they found the other two missing girls from Texas. As of August 2011, the three Texas teens were in protective custody, and a fourth girl, also believed to be a victim who was forced to work as a prostitute, was being cared for by a family member. According to Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation in Los Angeles, “the three Texas girls were rescued before they could be forced to engage in any acts of prostitution.” The charge of transporting minors in interstate commerce for the purpose of prostitution carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The maximum statutory sentence is life. Texas teens: state