FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2016, file photo, detainees wait in a cell for an appearance in Sacramento county superior court in Sacramento, Calif. A new law to end money bail for suspects awaiting trial will take effect in Oct. 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, file)
A Los Angeles man was convicted Thursday of trafficking teenage girls as young as 13 for commercial sex.
A jury in downtown Los Angeles found Raylonzo Roberts, 43, guilty of two felony counts each of pandering by procuring a minor under age 16, human trafficking of a minor for a commercial sex act, human trafficking of a minor for a commercial sex act by force, fear, fraud or threat of injury and lewd act on a child, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Jurors also convicted Roberts of one count each of human trafficking to commit another crime, aggravated sexual assault of a child and possession of a firearm by a felon.
The crimes involving eight girls occurred at various times between August 2011 and July 2015, according to Deputy District Attorney Guillermo Santiso.Roberts was arrested in August 2015 in connection with an investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department's South Bureau Human Trafficking unit and the Long Beach Police Department. He has remained behind bars since then.
Roberts is facing multiple life prison terms, with sentencing set Nov. 26.
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