A 22-year-old woman was charged Tuesday with pimping a 15-year-old girl in a case that originated in Anaheim.
Tamara Jade Askew pleaded not guilty to one felony count each of human trafficking of an underage victim, pimping a prostitute younger than 16 and pandering with a minor younger than 16. Her next scheduled court date is a Jan. 24 pretrial hearing at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.
Anaheim police working for the human trafficking task force received information about the victim Saturday night, leading the investigators to downtown Los Angeles, where the suspect was arrested Sunday morning, said Anaheim police Sgt. Jeff Mundy.
Anaheim police collaborated with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Rampart Division vice unit, Mundy said.
Deputy District Attorney Caroline Smith said Askew is accused of posting online ads soliciting sex and arranging to have the victim meet with customers, who were actually undercover agents in the human trafficking task force.
The members of the task force went to the Los Angeles motel where the defendant arranged to have them meet the victim and the officers arrested Askew, Smith said.