Ex-Police Officer Convicted of Operating Prostitution Ring

A former police officer was convicted Monday of running a prostitution ring, disguised as an escort service, that catered to Orange County customers.

Charles Gerald Jiles, 38, of Upland was found guilty by an Orange County Superior Court jury on 12 counts of pimping, pandering and conspiracy.

During a three-week trial, jurors heard testimony about sexual encounters between hundreds of clients and several dozen “escorts” at hotels and houses in Orange County and elsewhere in the Southland.

“It was a very active operation for Orange County,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. James Mulgrew, who prosecuted the case. “I’m very pleased with the verdict.”

Jiles, who had worked for eight years as a patrol officer with the Upland and Claremont police departments, faces a maximum sentence of 13 years in prison at his Jan. 6 sentencing, Mulgrew said. Jiles also faces a second trial, scheduled to begin Dec. 2, on charges that he started another escort-prostitution service while out on bail after his arrest.

Jiles took the witness stand and maintained that his employees were private contractors who were not told what to do on their dates.

“As long as they were not violating the laws, I was not concerned with what they were doing on their date,” Jiles testified.

But the jurors, after deliberating for less than two days, said they did not believe him.