Police say a suspicious Uber driver in Oak Park, California, stopped a case of child sex trafficking after he gave a ride to two women accused of pimping out a 16-year-old runaway.
On Monday, Keith Avila picked up the girl and two women, identified by police as Destiny Pettway, 25, and Maria Westley, 31, for a 13-minute trip to a Holiday Inn Express in Elk Grove. During the ride, the conversation between the women and the girl, as well as her attire, alarmed him. Avila told KCRA the girl looked to be 12, and was dressed in a "very short skirt" that struck him as "odd." The women engaged in conversation with the girl, telling her that once she got to the hotel, she would meet a man that she should "pat down" for weapons. They also said she had to "get the donation" before she started to touch him, Avila said.
After dropping his passengers off, Avila, who has only been an Uber driver for a month, drove out of sight of the hotel, and called police, who quickly arrived and arrested Pettway, Westley, and Disney Vang, 20, the man who allegedly was waiting at the hotel. The woman are both in a Sacramento County Jail on pimping related charges, and Vang was released Tuesday on bail. Beth Hassett, CEO of WEAVE, an organization that works with domestic violence and sexual abuse survivors in Sacramento County, told KCRA this was "a perfect example of the community coming together and recognizing that something is not right." She also explained that women are often used to recruit young girls because they have an easier time establishing trust, and traffickers look for runaways, children in foster care, and those that look vulnerable, in order to exploit them.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Forest Lodge: William and Kate's new home breaks with royal traditionIn the Spotlight Wales' said to hope move to 'forever home' in Windsor Great Park will 'leave unhappy memories behind'
-
Cloudbursts: what are the 'rain bombs' hitting India and Pakistan?The Explainer The sudden and intense weather event is almost impossible to forecast and often leads to deadly flash-flooding and landslides
-
Atoms into gold: alchemy's modern resurgenceUnder the radar The practice of alchemy has been attempted for thousands of years
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in ZürichThe Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
