OAKLAND — A man has been sentenced to five years in state prison for trafficking a teen girl who ran away from home in Southern California and ended up being sold on East Bay sex markets, court records show.
Denairo Lucky Johnson, 30, pleaded no contest to human trafficking of a minor and was sentenced to prison last month. He can reduce his time behind bars by half with good behavior, but he must also register as a sex offender for life once he gets out, court records show.
The case against Johnson started when police arrested a then-19-year-old woman, who herself had been a runaway juvenile, on suspicion of trafficking a 16-year-old girl. The girl described meeting the 19-year-old woman years earlier when they were both underage and in the foster care system near Los Angeles County; she said that the woman had purchased her a ticket to come to Oakland after she ran away.
The woman then told her that Johnson was to be her pimp and that “whatever he says goes,” according to court records. Johnson was charged last year alongside the woman.
The woman was allowed to enter a diversion program to earn a dismissal of criminal charges. Court filings describe possible reasons why she was given this opportunity, including physical abuse she suffered, evidence she was a victim of human trafficking and the fact that she was listed as an at-risk missing teen at age 13.
Johnson was given credit for 458 days toward his sentence, based on time he spent in jail while the case was pending, court records show.