Three Arrested in Riverside for Pimping Runaway Teen

RIVERSIDE – Two women and one man were arrested in the City of Riverside after authorities found a runaway teen who they were using for sex trafficking with them on Tuesday.

The Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (RCAHT) received information from the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force as to the possible whereabouts of the runaway Fresno 15-year-old girl. The teen was missing for around a month and was posted on 22 online advertisements in Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and Riverside Counties.

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“RCAHT Task Force Officers, working cooperatively with the Riverside Police Department’s Vice Unit, located a recent prostitution posting that appeared to depict photos of the missing child,” Riverside County Sheriff’s officials said. “Officers, acting in an undercover capacity, replied to the advertisement posing as a prospective sex buyer and negotiated for an act of prostitution.” The officers responded to a motel in the 10700 block of Magnolia Avenue in the City of Riverside. When they arrived they located the child, who was taken into protective custody.

With the child, they located three adults identified as Gabriella Ann Alvarado, 18, of Fresno, Ramon Avina Chavez, 20, of Fresno, and Alicia Monet Thao, 21, of Viola. Alvarado was booked into jail for human trafficking of a minor and pimping of a minor. Chavez was booked into jail for human trafficking of a minor, pimping of a minor, and several charges related to his possession of a loaded, concealable firearm with obliterated serial numbers. Thao was booked into jail for trafficking of a minor and pandering. All three are in custody and being held in lieu $500,000.

The Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force was formed in 2010 to address crimes involving the exploitation of victims via force, fraud, or coercion. These cases often involve the commercial sex trafficking of children, as well as incidents of forced labor, indentured servitude, debt bondage, or slavery. The RCAHT Task Force is a multidisciplinary task force which combines the investigative resources of both local and federal law enforcement. The RCAHT Task Force also provides victim services and education/outreach through partnerships with the non-profit groups Operation SafeHouse and Million Kids. The law enforcement component of RCAHT is currently composed of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, along with the part-time participation of the Hemet Police Department and Riverside Police Department.

The investigation of this incident is continuing. Anyone with additional information regarding this case is encouraged to contact Sheriff’s Investigator Brian Robertson at (951) 955-1700 or via email at broberts@riversidesheriff.org. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form. https://www.riversidesheriff.org/crimetips/