Sacramento man sentenced to prison for pimping two Napa teens, DA says

A Sacramento man was sentenced to prison last month on sex trafficking charges after leading two Napa high school students into prostitution.

In a news release, the Napa County District Attorney's Office said Marquez Jiron Thomas, 20, previously pleaded no contest to six felony charges and two misdemeanors, including pimping, stalking, having sex with a minor and possession of child pornography.

Prosecutors believe Thomas trafficked two 17-year-old girls beginning in December 2018, one of whom he met through Instagram, and another who knew the first girl.

Acting as their pimp, Thomas arranged sex work for the students in San Francisco, Daly City and Reno, Nevada, where he told them to solicit sex in the street and in hotel rooms.

Thomas tried to recruit customers for the girls by posting online advertisements, drove them to appointments for prostitution and financially benefited from their exploitation.

Noticing unusual behavior and trips to San Francisco, the girls' families contacted the Napa Police Department, who turned over the investigation to the Napa Special Investigation Bureau.

“This case shows that Napa County is not immune to the growing enterprise of child sex trafficking in our country,” deputy district attorney Taryn Hunter said in a prepared statement. “I hope this case also helps to dispel the common misconception that victims of sex trafficking are only runaways or otherwise at risk youth. The reality is that anyone with a smart phone or computer can meet a sex trafficker, even in their own home.”

Thomas was given 10 years in state prison and will be forced to register as a sex offender.