Citrus Heights police said a 20-year-old man was arrested Wednesday for his alleged role in selling a runaway teen for sex. Sacramento County Jail records indicate the man, Keiyonte Dvaughn Davis of Rosemont, is being held on $2 million bail on felony charges of pimping and pandering a minor under 16, and causing a minor to engage in a commercial sex act.
Police said another woman, 19-year-old Kayla Gemini Randall, was also arrested last month for her involvement in trafficking the same minor. According to a report in The Sacramento Bee, Randall is accused of holding the teen girl against her will and posting ads on Backpage.com offering her for sex acts.
Citrus Heights Police Sgt. Jason Baldwin said the teen victim had run away from home on Aug. 24 “to be with an adult male she recently met.” Several weeks later on Sept. 14, he said the department received information that the girl was being forced into prostitution and the following day, jail records show Randall was arrested.
Sgt. Baldwin said detectives were able to locate and rescue the teen at a hotel in Sacramento County. A search of the hotel room led to Randall’s arrest and the recovery of narcotics and electronic evidence.
A subsequent month-long human trafficking investigation led to the arrest of Davis, the second suspect in the case. Police said the investigation found that Davis, who was on probation, had befriended the teen and “was violently beating her, giving her drugs, and selling her for sex on the internet.”
>>See latest Citrus Heights police logs
About Backpage.com
The classified ads website allegedly involved in the case, Backpage.com, has faced a years-long investigation by California Attorney General Kamala Harris.
In an Oct. 6 news release announcing the recent arrest of the website’s CEO Carl Ferrer and several controlling investors, Harris accused the site of being the “world’s top online brothel.” Ferrer, along with investors Michael Lacey and James Larkin, currently face felony charges of pimping adults and minors, and conspiracy to commit pimping.
The California Department of Justice encourages anyone who has been a victim of trafficking on Backpage.com to file a report with the DOJ by emailing backpage@doj.ca.gov.
>>Get police logs and other local news delivered to your inbox each Sunday: click here to sign up for The Sentinel’s free Weekend e-Edition
