Stockton sex trafficker whose crimes have Modesto, Ripon connections sentenced to prison
A sex trafficker from Stockton whose crimes have connections with Modesto and Ripon has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
Citing court documents, a news release says that between September and November 2018, Lucious James Roy, 34, recruited a 17‑year-old and a 16-year-old to engage in prostitution.
He recruited the older teen outside a high school, and he used a social media platform to recruit the younger victim. Roy groomed the victims to perform sex acts in exchange for money, which he kept, according to the release from the Office of the U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of California. Roy also used threats of violence to try to control them.
Roy and his co-conspirator, Dawniel Santangelo, 43, also of Stockton, created online prostitution advertisements for the victims and drove them to motels across Northern California, including Ripon, Stockton, Salinas and Oakland, where they had sex with strangers for money.
On May 10, 2019, Roy and Santangelo were found in a Jackson County, Oregon, hotel room with a 15-year-old runaway from Modesto. The adults were arrested for state prostitution and sex-trafficking offenses.
At that time, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office had an open investigation into the defendants for the sex trafficking of the two other minors. Both the Jackson County and San Joaquin County district attorneys dismissed their cases in favor of federal prosecution.
The Modesto girl had been missing from her home since April 29, and a report from one of her parents led Medford police to the motel. The teen was reunited with her family.
Roy was sentenced in Sacramento to 17 years and seven months in prison for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a child.
“Today’s sentence is necessary due to the defendant’s long criminal history and to protect the public from future crimes,” Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said in the news release. “He used intimidation and threats to keep his victims compliant and afraid to seek help. His willingness and ability to recruit children and coerce them to engage in prostitution for his financial benefit puts the public in danger.”
Charges are pending against Santangelo. She is scheduled for trial July 27. If convicted, she faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. To learn more about the initiative, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
In addition to law enforcement agencies, resources in Stanislaus County for victims of human trafficking include Haven Women’s Center and Without Permission.
This story was originally published April 12, 2021 at 3:01 PM.
