A man who was arrested last year by Long Beach police on suspicion of sexually trafficking a 17-year-old girl and taking her infant child was sentenced today to 13 years in state prison. Antonio Lettmen, now 24, pleaded no contest to the trafficking of a minor for a commercial sex act and child stealing, according to Greg Risling with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The Los Angeles resident was arrested in a vehicle near his home last July 30, two days after Long Beach police responded to a call of a dispute in the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Hill Street and spoke to a girl they believed was a victim of human trafficking, police said at the time.
Officers later determined the suspect had taken the girl’s infant child without her consent, police said, noting that the teen was reunited with her child July 28.
Police said they discovered evidence pertaining to the human trafficking of the 17-year-old girl when Lettmen’s vehicle and his residence were searched. Lettmen has remained behind bars since his arrest, jail records show.
Girl, 17, and her infant child rescued in human trafficking investigation, police say