Santa Ana, California – A South Bay man has pleaded guilty to a federal criminal charge for forcing a fentanyl-addicted woman to work for him as a prostitute in Orange County, then raping her and abandoning her in the Angeles National Forest.
Leslie Anthony Bailey, 33, of Wilmington, pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking by force and coercion. He has been in custody since March 2024.
According to his plea agreement, in February 2022, Bailey exchanged messages with a victim on a social media platform. The victim told Bailey she was in a treatment facility for fentanyl addiction and was experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Bailey offered to pick her up and provide her with fentanyl.
On February 5, Bailey picked the victim up from the facility, took her to buy fentanyl pills, then brought her to his then-residence in Long Beach, where he provided some of the fentanyl pills.
The next day, Bailey drove the victim from his Long Beach home to an area in Anaheim that is known for prostitution. Bailey told the victim he expected her to engage in sex acts for money and that she would provide him the money she earned from those acts. Bailey also told the victim he would provide more fentanyl to her after she completed the sex transactions.
On February 8, the victim asked Bailey to drive her back to the drug treatment facility in Los Angeles. Although he promised her that he would do so, Bailey instead drove the victim to a remote area in the Angeles National Forest, ordered her out of the car, punched and kicked her, then raped her, ultimately driving away and leaving her there.
Leslie Anthony Bailey will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment at his sentencing hearing on July 18.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Kristin N. Spencer of the Orange County Office is prosecuting this case.
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- Shirzad Mehrrafiee, Federal Drug Trafficking, California 2023 · California
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Sex Crimes|Drug Trafficking|Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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