Lakeport couple arrested for selling teen girls into prostitution
- Lake County News reports
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Authorities have arrested a Lakeport couple who they said have been trafficking teenage girls as prostitutes in the Bay Area.
Sam Lindsey Massette, 37, and his wife Krystina Marie Pickersgill, 27, were arrested Tuesday, according to District Attorney Don Anderson.
Anderson said that early on Tuesday morning investigators with his office served the last of several search warrants into a human trafficking investigation at a residence on 2569 Lagoon Drive in Lakeport. There they arrested Massette and Pickersgill.
The investigation into the case started after the play “Jane Doe in Wonderland” was performed at the Soper-Reese Theater in April, Anderson said.
“Jane Doe in Wonderland” is a play about human trafficking, the way traffickers work and the effects on the victims.
After the play a young woman approached Anderson, who was a speaker at the play, and told him she was a victim of human trafficking, he said.
Anderson said an investigation was launched and it led to the discovery that Massette and Pickersgill were operating a high class human trafficking ring.
The District Attorney’s Office alleges that the couple recruited girls at an early age while they were still in high school.
After the girls turned 18, Massette and Pickersgill are alleged to have taken them to San Francisco where they would be sold as prostitutes, Anderson said.
Anderson alleges that the couple coerced and threatened the girls to perform acts of prostitution.
Massette is being held in the Lake County jail on charges of human trafficking and tax evasion under the penalty of perjury, with a bail of $2,000,000, Anderson said. Pickersgill, who is charged with human trafficking, has bail set at $1,000,000.
They are set for arraignment on these charges on Thursday afternoon in Lake County Superior Court, Anderson said.
Besides the arrests, Anderson said the District Attorney’s Office seized two new Jaguars, two Mitsubishi automobiles and a large sum of cash. It is believed that neither Massette or Pickersgill are involved in an legitimate business or income.
Anderson said human trafficking is the fastest growing crime in the United States and has turned into a multibillion dollar operation throughout the country.
He said that, in Lake County, human trafficking is starting to get a stronghold in the community and in the schools.
This is the third case in which the District Attorney’s Office has made arrests for human trafficking this year. Nicholas Brooks and Timothy Williams are both awaiting trials in separate human trafficking cases, as Lake County News has reported.
“At the District Attorney’s Office, these cases are treated extremely serious,” Anderson said. “We will make every effort to free these victims from those who force them into prostitution against their will and help give them a new start in life.”
He added, “We are requesting any information the public may have regarding human trafficking or if you suspect any child is being recruited for trafficking.”
The Lake County District Attorney’s Office can be reached at 707-263-2251.