Photo: Andre William Furtado
SANTA CLARA COUNTY – The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department led an investigation into an individual who had severely beaten and abused a young woman in order to sell her for sex. Santa Clara County Detectives, along with District Attorney Investigators, Law Enforcement to Investigate Human Trafficking (LEIHT), immediately jumped into action to arrest the suspected pimp/abuser and help rescue the young victim from human trafficking.
The suspect was identified as 32-year-old Andre William Furtado of Watsonville. According to Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Low, “In 2014, the victim began a dating relationship with Furtado, who persuaded the victim into turning to prostitution as an income source.”
The suspect persuaded the young victim to prostitute herself and helped to launch an online profile in order to elicit sex from strangers. Low said, “Within one month of working for Furtado, Furtado began physically abusing her with force.” The suspect had become so dangerous that the female victim had been hospitalized after Furtado had beaten her.
Over time the suspect had become so violent that he was now threatening the young female victim’s father when the young woman came forward to seek help from authorities. Evidence was collected that linked the suspect to human trafficking, pimping, pandering, and kidnapping. Furtado was currently on felony parole and is a registered sex offender.
Anyone with information on this case or others that may need help escaping their abuser please contact the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office at (408) 808-4500. Alternatively, you can contact the Sheriff’s Office Investigative Services anonymous tip line at (408) 808-4431.
