UPDATE: Turlock police rescue teen sex trafficking victim; Fresno man arrested
Turlock Police on Wednesday night arrested a Fresno man suspected of sex trafficking a teenage girl.
Javen Novella, 19, was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking of a minor for commercial sex acts and pimping and pandering of a minor 16 years of age or older.
On Tuesday, the Turlock Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit received information from another, undisclosed, law enforcement agency that the victim and suspect were possibly in the Turlock area, according to a press release.
Sgt. Mike Parmley said the girl had been reported missing but he wouldn’t say how long ago or where she is from, other than she was not local.
On Wednesday, undercover S.I.U. Investigators began communicating with the victim and the suspect and arranged a meeting for the purpose of prostitution in the 1800 block of Lander Avenue.
The victim was contacted by investigators once she was safely away from Novella, while Novella was contacted as he waited in his vehicle in a parking lot.
Investigators on scene located additional evidence of the victim being trafficked by Novella, according to the press release. Parmley declined to elaborate on what that evidence was.
Novella was interviewed and arrested. His bail is set at $570,000.
This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 9:11 AM.
