Woman coerced into prostitution after meeting pair on Web, D.A. alleges

A man and woman have been charged with befriending a 19-year-old woman on Facebook and then coercing her into prostitution, prosecutors said.

Jasmine De Johnette Marshall Parker, 21, of Ontario, and Frederick Victoralan Phillips, 25, of Rialto were arrested Thursday after they had arranged a meeting between the woman and an undercover officer, whom they met online, said prosecutor Daniel Veron of the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Both are charged with one felony count each of pimping, pandering and human trafficking, prosecutors said. They face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.

The pair had reportedly met the woman, whom Veron described as having “cognitive or mental impairment,” on Facebook and communicated with her for a year.

“This is just one example of someone trolling the Internet to find someone vulnerable,” he said.

They met the woman in May and drove her to Anaheim, where they coerced her into prostitution for a month, according to a district attorney office statement.

They reportedly took her earnings and bought a new car for themselves.

Prosecutors said Parker and Phillips took advantage of her “cognitive or mental impairment” by making false promises, prosecutors said.

The pair’s arrest was part of a nationwide crackdown on commercial child prostitution.

FBI officials on Monday announced the week-long crackdown, dubbed “Operation Cross Country,” during which state, local and federal officials rescued 168 children and arrested 281 pimps nationwide.

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