Operator of Brothel Pleads No Contest
A woman admitted she ran the “College Cuties” brothel and recruited her employees from UC Santa Barbara, pleading no contest to pimping and pandering charges just before her trial was to begin.
Patricia Marie Cota, 29, pleaded no contest Tuesday to six felony counts of pandering, five counts of pimping, five counts of money laundering and one count of possession of cocaine.
She remains free on $20,000 bail pending a sentencing hearing June 8. She faces up to 12 years in prison, but prosecutors said the judge has agreed to give her the minimum sentence allowed--three years in prison.
Cota was arrested when police raided her apartment Dec. 2 and found a college student, 19, standing naked in a bedroom with a nude man in the closet. Cota lured potential prostitutes from UC Santa Barbara by placing ads in newspapers for exotic dancers.
Many of the prostitutes and customers were granted immunity in exchange for their testimony.
Cota will forfeit a 1994 BMW worth about $22,000 along with about $44,000 in cash, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Joyce Dudley. Both the car and money were seized in the raid.
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