A 33-year-old man has been accused of recruiting a woman through Facebook and forcing her to work as a prostitute in the Inland Empire. He pleaded guilty in Santa Ana to a federal sex trafficking charge.
Lawrence T. Gunn Jr.’s last known residence was in Woodland Hills and he pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and is facing a sentencing hearing on Oct. 2, according to Thom Mrozek of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Gunn faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and could get life according to Mrozek.
Prosecutors claim that he advertised the victim’s service in an online publication and went by the nickname “Classified”. Gunn forced the woman to get a facial tattoo of his moniker.
Gunn admitted to using force, threats of force, fraud and/or coercion to compel the woman to engage in commercial sex acts between May 2015 and late February 2016.
If the woman tried to keep any of the proceeds from her activities he would beat her, once he broke her nose.
Gunn also threatened to kill the woman if she ever tried to leave him. He will be required t register as a sex offender after he completes his prison term.