A Long Beach man convicted of pimping a 16-year-old girl was sentenced Wednesday to 33 years in state prison and was ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Eric James Avery, 25, was convicted Aug. 8 of one felony count each of pimping a minor 16 years of age or older and human trafficking of a minor for a sex act. Jurors also found true a gang allegation.
Co-defendant Lebrette Stacey Winn, 23, was found guilty of two counts each of pimping and pandering by procuring and one count each of human trafficking to commit another crime, sodomy by use of forcible rape, aggravated mayhem and kidnapping.
Winn was sentenced Sept. 18 to more than 47 years to life in state prison. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life.
A 20-year-old woman told police she met Winn in January 2013, when he persuaded her to work as a prostitute, then raped her. The young woman ran away after some time on the street, but Winn tracked her down and forced her back into work as a prostitute, authorities said.
Winn had his pimp moniker and a dollar sign tattooed on the woman’s forehead to punish her for wanting to go home and to show that she was his property, according to Deputy District Attorney Lee Cernok.
The other woman, who was 18, told police that she worked as a prostitute after meeting Winn in November 2012, but later quit the trade.
Winn duped her into meeting him May 15, 2013, then threatened her, forced her into a car, picked up the 20-year-old woman and drove to a mall, where he left the two women inside the vehicle, authorities said
Avery was a passenger in Winn’s car when police pulled over Winn to arrest him. Officers found a Inglewood hotel key in Avery’s pocket that led them to a 16-year-old girl, who said she had been working as a prostitute for him.
— City News Service