Human Trafficking Arrest NR12319cj

Los Angeles:  On June 28, 2012, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Human Trafficking Unit, concluded a two month long investigation of human trafficking which lead to a search warrant and arrest of three individuals.

During the week of May 4, 2012, Human Trafficking Unit investigators were summoned by the Riverside County, Juvenile Probation Department regarding a 15-year-old female, who stated that she was the victim of human trafficking.

The Human Trafficking Unit conducted an investigation based on the information provided.   The female minor stated that she was recruited by a male, by the name of James Grady III.  Grady procured the young female and forced her to work for him as a prostitute.  During the four months that 27-year-old Grady forced her to work for him as a prostitute, he continually degraded her and forced her to perform sexual acts upon him.  On two separate occasions, Grady intensified the violence on the victim.  Both incidents stemmed from Grady setting financial quotas the female minor was to earn for him daily.  When the young female did not meet her “quota”, Grady forced her to take off all of her clothing and enter the shower with the water running.  He then brandished an electrical taser and held it to her skin.  Grady cycled the Taser several times and told her that if she did not earn her “quota”, the next time he would electrocute her in the shower.

The second incident involved Grady forcing a rifle underneath the young woman’s chin and telling her that if she did not earn her “quota,” he would kill her and her family.

The charges against Grady were, Pimping of a Minor, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Sodomy and Human Trafficking.  These charges were filed in the Superior Court of Los Angeles.

In 2009, the LAPD, Human Trafficking Unit was initiated to combat the growing problem of commercial sexual exploitation through prostitution in the Los Angeles area.  Since its’ inception, the Human Trafficking Unit has conducted over 500 investigations, resulting in the arrest of over 80 individuals for Human Trafficking related offenses.