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LADA’s human sex trafficking convictions more than doubled in 2025

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman today outlined the Office’s continued efforts and innovative approach to combat human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, combining tougher felony charging decisions against sexual exploiters/buyers, commonly referred to as ‘johns’ and sex traffickers/pimps as well as providing services from community-based organizations to directly support sex worker victims and survivors.​

“Human trafficking is essentially modern-day slavery, and Los Angeles County for far too long has been one of its epicenters,” said District Attorney Hochman. “A year ago, we announced we were going to aggressively prosecute traffickers and pimps – and we did – but there is still a crisis for families in these neighborhoods. Our office is now doing three things at once to go after the demand and supply side of this illegal sex industry: filing felony cases, including conspiracy charges, against the sexual exploiters/buyers who drive demand, aggressively seeking years of prison time against the sex traffickers/pimps, and offering resources and services to sex workers, in an effort to end their exploitation.”​

“Disrupting trafficking at scale requires coordination between prosecutors, law enforcement, elected officials, service providers, the faith community, the business community and the public,” said Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto. “I am proud to partner with the District Attorney on this comprehensive approach to prevention, enforcement, and victim support.”

Working with the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Bureau Human Trafficking Task Force, the Office is supporting operations that use felony conspiracy theories to target those who operate and patronize commercial sex markets that harm neighborhoods. As part of this effort, they are paying special attention to the sexual exploiters whose conduct fuels this illegal activity.​

“Human trafficking along the Figueroa Corridor is an attack on the safety and dignity of our community,” said Jim McDonnell, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. “The LAPD, working closely with our local, state, federal, and community partners, has built a unified response to protect victims, reduce demand, and dismantle the networks that profit from exploitation. Our collaboration is delivering real results, and our message is clear: traffickers will be held accountable, survivors will be supported, and together we will keep the Figueroa Corridor safe.”

LADA’s Bureau of Investigation is also involved in this battle against human trafficking, embedding with task forces and vice units across the region and playing a direct role in internet-based decoy operations, corridor details and residential brothel investigations that have yielded arrests and the rescue of exploited minors.​

This collaboration between law enforcement, the District Attorney’s Office and community service providers was demonstrated during operations, most recently on Dec. 9, 2025, when LAPD teams patrolling the Figueroa Corridor arrested both a sex worker and a buyer for conspiracy to commit a public nuisance. The female sex worker was offered resources, and she accepted. The community organization even paid for a bus ticket so she could return to her home state rather than remain in the Figueroa Corridor.

At the same time, prosecutors filed three felony counts against the sexual exploiter. Case 25CJCF08295 charges Alfredo Espinoza, 31, with conspiracy to commit lewd conduct in public, conspiracy to commit an act that is injurious to the public and conspiracy to commit the crime of public nuisance with an allegation of a prior strike for second-degree robbery. He faces six years in state prison if convicted as charged. His next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10 in Department 35 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.​

District Attorney Hochman noted during the news conference that the Office’s human trafficking convictions more than doubled in 2025 compared to recent years and increased by more than 750 percent compared to 2022. This increase in convictions comes despite the difficulty that many of the victims in these cases are reluctant to participate.

Qudar Eric Edmonds, 27, (case 24CJCF04400) was sentenced in August 2025 to 18 years and four months in state prison for trafficking two minors and pimping an adult throughout multiple areas of Los Angeles County, including the Figueroa Corridor, along with kidnapping and criminal threats. Prosecutors secured the conviction despite victims who did not want to cooperate.

Marcus Alan Jones, 32, (case BA489942) was sentenced in February 2025 to 12 years in state prison after a jury convicted him of trafficking a 15‑year‑old girl on the Figueroa Corridor and in Kern County.​

Violent crimes also tend to occur in and around commercial sex markets, and the Office is committed to aggressively prosecuting those crimes. This past summer, a jury found Raul Flores, 33, (case 24CJCF07101) guilty of strangling and slashing the neck of a 17‑year‑old commercial sex worker on the Figueroa Corridor. He faces a sentence of 14 years to life plus 25 years of additional time at a hearing scheduled for Jan. 27 in Department 122 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.​

In August, charges were filed against a suspected sexual exploiter who posed as a ‘john’ to sexually assault commercial sex workers. Andre Cobbs, 43, (case 25CJCF01450) is charged with six counts of forcible rape, three counts of forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual penetration by use of force and one count of second-degree robbery. He faces 850 years to life if convicted as charged. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Jan. 21 in Department 128 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.​

“These cases show just how dangerous this environment is, especially for minors,” District Attorney Hochman said. “Whether someone is being trafficked or is selling sex on their own, if they are the victim of a violent attack, this Office will treat them as a victim and pursue the strongest possible charges against their assailants.”​

District Attorney Hochman added that starting in January, which is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the Office is also asking for the community’s help in identifying sexual exploiters and informing future strategies to go after the buyers who drive demand. To that end, he unveiled a survey open to community members seeking ideas to bring to the state legislature so they can work to pass laws with tougher penalties that ensure that sexual exploiters will get more than a slap on the hand.

“This issue has persisted along this corridor for my entire life, and we aim to tackle it head-on,” added Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson. “The City of Los Angeles leads a Task Force that collaborates with the community, successfully closing six motels, sending over 1,000 “Dear John” letters, installing cameras, and conducting hundreds of rescues of trafficked individuals. I fully support District Attorney Hochman's survey and urge everyone affected by trafficking in this area to participate and make their voices heard.”

“We refuse to turn a blind eye to the victims, including minors, being exploited by this epidemic and the neighborhoods under siege by it,” District Attorney Hochman said. “We expect even more filings as we send our own investigators into the field, continue our work with law enforcement and community partners and focus more attention on the sexual exploiters who come into these neighborhoods to buy people for sex.”​

The open cases in this news release are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.