A Long Beach man was sentenced today to 47 years and four months to life in state prison after being convicted of pimping two women and sexually assaulting one of them, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office (LADA) announced.
Lebrette Stacey Winn, 23, was found guilty last month of two counts of pimping, two counts of pandering by procuring and one count each of human trafficking to commit another crime, sodomy by use of force, forcible rape, aggravated mayhem and kidnapping.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Tomson Ong ordered Winn to also register as a sex offender for life and pay a $10,000 fine at today’s sentencing. Winn was also ordered to stay away from the two victims for 10 years.
Winn’s co-defendent, Eric James Avery, 25, is scheduled to be sentened Oct. 17 at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Long Beach Branch.
Avery was convicted Aug. 11 of two felony counts: pimping a minor 16 years of age or older and human trafficking of a minor for a sex act. Jurors also found him to be involved in a gang.
Police said two female victims, ages 20 and 18, came forward on May 15, 2013 after escaping a locked car in Culver City. They ran to a Good Samaritan and told him they had been kidnapped and forced into prostitution, according to the prosecution. The man drove them to a nearby police station, where an investigation began.
The 20-year-old victim told authorities she met Winn that January, when he convinced her to become a prostitute and then raped her.
The woman eventually ran away, but Winn found her and made her continue, all the while physically and sexually assaulting her. Winn also tattooed his pimp name and a dollar sign on the victim’s forehead as punishment for wanting to go home.
The 18-year-old victim told police she met Winn in November of 2012 and he also persuaded her to prostitute for him. She eventually stopped prostituting, but Winn created a ruse for her to meet up with him on May 15, 2013, where he forced her into his car and threatened her. Winn then picked up the 20-year-old victim and took both women to the mall, where they escaped from the vehicle while he was inside.
One day after the victims went to police, Winn was arrested while he was driving to meet the 18-year-old victim. Avery was the passenger in the vehicle and was also taken into custody.
Police found a hotel key in Avery’s pocket which led them to a room, where they discovered a 16-year-old girl who said she was working as a prostitute for Avery.
The case was investigated by the Long Beach Police Department’s Vice Investigations Section, Sex Crimes Detail, Missing Persons Detail and Gang Enforcement Division.