Anaheim police July 12 arrested a Las Vegas man on suspicion of trafficking a 14-year-old girl for sex, after receiving information about a girl who was allegedly being exploited for commercialized sex.
Marcus Boyd, 36, has a lengthy criminal record of at least 37 arrests in Clark County, Nevada, dating to 2006—including five arrests on prostitution related charges—and was convicted in 2021 for pandering and sex trafficking, both felonies, according to court records.
In the Anaheim case, investigators located the alleged victim July 9 and less than 12 hours later, the suspect and tried to pull him over in a traffic stop. He resisted, leading officers on a short chase, according to Anaheim police. Ultimately, Mr. Boyd abandoned the car he was driving and fled on foot, until authorities caught and apprehended him.
Investigators say they searched Mr. Boyd’s vehicle and found a firearm suppressor, or silencer, which attaches to a firearm to muffle the sound of a gunshot. The devices are illegal in California.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office charged him with human trafficking of a minor and pandering of a minor under 16. He was also charged with possession of a silencer, evading police, and resisting or obstructing a police officer.
Mr. Boyd remained in custody Wednesday in lieu of $1 million bail at the Orange County central men’s jail, according to inmate records.
The county’s human trafficking task force locates and identifies victims of pimping or human trafficking.
It is co-chaired by the Anaheim Police Department and Waymakers, a nonprofit helping youth offenders and sheltered children. The group targets perpetrators who sexually exploit and traffic women and underage girls for financial gain, including pimps, panderers, and human traffickers.
California ranks first in reported sex trafficking cases, with 1,023 cases as of 2021, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
