A Compton woman and her adult son were indicted on federal charges of forcing two teenagers to engage in sexual activity for money, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
According to prosecutors, the two 13-year-old victims in the case were walking in Bell Gardens around 2 a.m. June 3, 2023, when a vehicle containing 24-year-old Reuben Gilliam and two other men pulled alongside them, and one of the occupants ordered the teens to get in. The teens were then taken to a home in Lynwood, according to authorities.
Prosecutors contend that over the next week, the victims were forced to engage in sex acts with both defendants and other “customers,” at least one of whom claimed to have paid the defendants $100 to have sex with the teens.
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The teens were also directed to pose for provocative photos wearing lingerie that were used to advertise the commercial sex operation, prosecutors said.
After several nights at the Lynwood location, the defendants saw social media posts about missing children that depicted the two victims and described them as being only 13 years old, prosecutors said. At that point, the victims were moved out of Lynwood, authorities say.
Law enforcement officials found the teens on June 9, 2023, in a recreational vehicle in Gardena, prosecutors said. Investigators also recovered clothing, shoes, eyewear and a cell phone that was allegedly given to the teens by the suspects.
Daisy Pollard-Gilliam, 41, and son Reuben Gilliam were charged in the indictment with a single count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and two counts of sex trafficking of a minor. Pollard-Gilliam was additionally charged with a single count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Reuben Gilliam was already in state custody on unrelated charges, and will be transferred to federal custody in the coming weeks. Pollard-Gilliam was arrested April 24 and ordered jailed without bail. She is due to appear in court for arraignment Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles.
Pollard-Gilliam also allegedly distributed photos and videos of the victims to an inmate and Kern Valley State Prison, prosecutors said, while Reuben Gilliam allegedly communicated on Instagram with other users about his trafficking of the two victims.
The weapons charge against Pollard-Gilliam stems from April of this year, when she allegedly possessed a semi-automatic pistol and 25 rounds of ammunition, despite being prohibited from doing so due to a 2021 conviction for child abandonment.
Both defendants face possible life prison sentences if convicted as charged, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.