South Bay Man Charged in Federal Grand Jury Indictment with Sex Trafficking and Allegedly Raping Victim in Angeles National Forest

SANTA ANA, California – A South Bay man is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon on a five-count federal grand jury indictment that alleges he kidnapped a woman, forced her to work for him as a prostitute in Orange County, and then raped her in the Angeles National Forest.

Leslie Anthony Bailey, 32, who lives on a boat docked in Wilmington, was arrested Thursday by special agents with Homeland Security Investigations and members of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force. Bailey is expected to be arraigned today in United States District Court in Santa Ana.

The indictment returned Wednesday and unsealed Thursday afternoon charges Bailey with sex trafficking, kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse and two counts of using a cellphone to facilitate his business involving prostitution, pimping and pandering.

The victim identified as “J.H.” was kidnapped on February 5, 2022, held for several days, and was subjected to force, threats of force and coercion that caused her to engage in at least one commercial sex act, according to the indictment. That kidnapping continued until February 8, 2022, when Bailey drove the victim into the Angeles National Forest, where he raped her “by using force against victim J.H. and by threatening victim J.H. and placing victim J.H. in fear that victim J.H. would be subject to death, serious bodily injury, and kidnapping,” the indictment states.

“Sex traffickers prey upon vulnerable people, turning their misery into profits,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “This defendant is charged with using threats, coercion and physical violence to control his victim. We are committed to fighting human trafficking and bringing perpetrators to justice.”

“HSI Los Angeles and our partners at the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are committed to ensuring that violent sexual criminals and their heinous conduct have no place in our community,” said HSI Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang. “My office will hold these predators accountable and will provide victims with a pathway towards restorative justice.”

Bailey allegedly used a “facility of interstate commerce” – a cellphone – as part of a business enterprise in which he “caused victim J.H. to engage in prostitution and supervised, directed, and collected the proceeds of victim J.H.’s prostitution.”

The fifth count in the indictment alleges that between March 7 and April 25, 2023, Bailey used the internet and a cellphone to further the prostitution, pimping and pandering of a second victim.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

The sex trafficking offense in the indictment carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a potential sentence of life imprisonment. Both the kidnapping and the aggravated sexual abuse charges carry a maximum statutory penalty of life. The two counts alleging the use of a facility in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activity each carry up to five years in federal prison.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are investigating this matter. The Task Force includes HSI, the Anaheim Police Department, the Irvine Police Department, the Santa Ana Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol.

Assistant United States Attorney Kristin N. Spencer of the Santa Ana Branch Office is prosecuting this case.