Three Santa Maria men were arrested at an unspecified motel in the city on Feb. 19 after a minor, who was allegedly being pimped out, escaped the motel and called the Santa Maria Police Department for help from another location.
Santa Maria Police Sgt. Michael McGehee said officers immediately responded to the call.
Gabriel Campos-Lopez, 51; Pedro Morales Abotye, 57; and Ramiro Morales Buenrostro, 37; were all booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of statutory rape—also known as unlawful intercourse with a minor—according to the police department. Abotye was arrested for alleged rape and pimping a minor, and Buenrostro for alleged oral copulation of a minor.
Any prostitution case involving a minor is legally considered to be human trafficking, according to Sgt. McGehee. The victim, according to the police department, is now safe and being provided with various services.
This article appears in Feb 22 – Mar 1, 2018.