Runaway teen was human trafficking victim in Oakland, authorities say
October 1, 2021
OAKLAND — A 30-year-old Stockton man has been charged with trafficking a teen girl who ran away from home, after she was detained in a prostitution sting and he showed up to the police station to pick her up, authorities said.
Demarea Canada was charged Sept. 16 with human trafficking of a minor, pimping a child, and pandering, court records show. The charges stem from a Sept. 13 undercover operation on International Boulevard, where police detained a girl less than 15 years old and transported her to protective custody, according to court records.
The girl allegedly told authorities that she’d been in a “close relationship” with Canada for a month and wanted him to be her boyfriend. She said he took her all over California, including the Bay Area, for purposes of sex trafficking, Oakland police Ofc. Kathryn Reymundo wrote in court records.
“Additionally, (the girl) shared her location via cellphone with (Canada) and contacted him when she was with customers,” Reymundo wrote in a probable cause statement filed in court. “(The girl) stated (Canada) also protected her when other pimps attempted to talk to her while she was working.”
Police determined the girl had run away from home in another part of California, and came up with a ruse to lure Canada to the police station: Reymundo called his cellphone and advised Canada the girl had been picked up in a dangerous area and needed to be released to a responsible adult, authorities said.
Canada was arrested around 9 p.m. Sept. 13 after arriving at the downtown police station to get the girl, authorities said. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and remained jailed Friday in Santa Rita in lieu of $405,000 bail, records show.
Canada is next due in court Nov. 12, where a judge will review the evidence and determine if there is enough to order him to stand trial.
Runaway teen was human trafficking victim in Oakland, authorities say
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