An investigation by the Gilroy Police Department last week revealed an alleged “prostitution ring” involving a 13-year-old Gilroy girl inside the Travel Inn at 5530 Monterey Road, according to GPD Sgt. Pedro Espinoza.
A sweep of the motel at approximately 5 p.m. Jan. 16 resulted in the arrests of five suspects, three from Gilroy and two from Seaside, who were charged with felony human trafficking and conspiracy charges.
Yahya Abul Malik, 22, of Gilroy, was allegedly using the young girl – who was reported as a runaway by her mother on Jan. 14 – as a prostitute, Espinoza said.
Yahya was slapped with additional charges including committing lewd acts with a child, oral copulation with a minor, enticing a minor for sex, pimping, pandering and other charges.
Four other suspects were present during the GPD’s sweep of two motel rooms of the Travel Inn. The suspects all “had knowledge of the illicit activity,” police say.
Yahya Malik and 24-year-old Khalid Abdul Malik, of Gilroy; 21-year-old Randi Marshade Neely, of Gilroy; 21-year-old Invan Diego Wage, of Seaside; and 19-year-old Marvina Kim Jones, of Seaside; were transported to the Santa Clara County Jail and booked and human trafficking and conspiracy charges.
Based on interviews with the suspects, police say they’ve learned the group had been operating in various hotels in Seaside and Salinas.
“Gilroy was kind of their last stop,” Espinoza said.
Police were originally tipped off by the 13-year-old girl’s mother who reported the runaway juvenile to local to authorities.
“The subsequent investigation by (GPD) officers revealed a prostitution ring involving the above group,” Espinoza said. “It was determined that the female juvenile victim had an ongoing relationship with (Yahya Malik).”
There is no indication the 13-year-old girl was taken by force, according to police. The relationship between Yahya and the young girl started out with a face-to-face meeting that soon developed into a friendship, Espinoza said. Then, the GPD says, Yahya began “pimping her out.”
“There is no excuse for that – regardless of what his defense could be. It doesn’t change the fact that she’s 13 and he’s 22,” Espinoza added.
Since the arrests last week, the young girl has been reunited with her family, according to police.
Back on Sept. 5, during a preliminary hearing in Riverside Superior Court, Yahya Malik was cleared of previous, separate charges stemming from his arrest in mid-August for kidnapping, sexual assault and pimping charges after the alleged victim recanted her story. According to John Hall, spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, all charges against Malik and four others were dropped and he was released from custody after the alleged victim informed the court she fabricated the story.
The GPD’s Anti-Crime Team conducted a sting operation in March to combat online-based prostitution rings, Espinoza confirmed, which resulted in the arrests of six suspects. Local authorities posed as sex traders on two websites known by officials as festering grounds for illicit sexual activities – sometimes involving children – and set up a mock prostitution operation in South Gilroy, he added.
GPD detectives are actively pursuing leads and the investigation into the alleged prostitution ring at 5530 Monterey Road is ongoing, reads a press release. Anyone with information is urged to contact GPD Det. Rob Basuino at (408) 846-0350. Parties wishing to remain anonymous may call We-Tip at 1-800-782-7463 (1-800-78-CRIME).
