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Stockton Woman Convicted of Sex Trafficking Children
A federal jury found Dawniel Santangelo, 43, of Stockton, guilty of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a child, three counts of sex trafficking of a child, and one count of transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced today.
According to evidence presented at trial, between September 2018 and May 2019, Santangelo recruited 15-, 16-, and 17-year-old girls to engage in prostitution throughout Northern California and Southern Oregon. She enticed the girls to perform sex acts for strangers by providing alcohol, drugs, and creating a party atmosphere in motels in Stockton and Salinas.
Santangelo posted online prostitution ads depicting the victims and brought sex buyers to the motels to have sex with the victims in exchange for money that she and co-defendant, Lucious James Roy, 34, of Stockton, took from the victims. The minor victims had sex with sex buyers in the motel rooms where Santangelo harbored them and on the streets of the cities where Santangelo took them.
Prosecutors said Santangelo urged the victims to continue engaging in commercial sex acts, falsely reassuring a 17-year-old victim that the experience was not that bad and offering to give a 16-year-old victim feminine products to keep her engaging in sex acts when she was menstruating.
On April 12, 2021, Roy was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller to 17 years and seven months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a child. Santangelo is scheduled for sentencing by Judge Mueller on Nov. 8, 2021.
The case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Stockton Police Department, the San Joaquin District Attorney’s Office, the Medford (Oregon) Police Department, and the Jackson County (Oregon) District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cameron L. Desmond and Brian A. Fogerty are prosecuting the case.
The maximum statutory penalty for Santangelo’s convictions on the sex trafficking of a child and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity counts each carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. She faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Sex Crimes|Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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