Bay Area Man Accused of Pimping a 16-Year-Old Girl Held on $300k Bond
OAKLAND — A 35-year-old Bay Area man held in custody in lieu of $300,000 bond stands accused of pimping a 16-year-old girl. The suspect Joseph Ray Lewis allegedly split profits 50/50 with the girl working as a prostitute in Oakland.
The victim implicated Lewis when she was detained as part of an ongoing vice operation in Alameda County. Lewis, a resident of Berkeley, was arrested while he was in San Joaquin County by a California Highway Patrol officer.
Lewis alias “Money Money” was taken into custody July 8 in the small unincorporated community of French Camp. He was arrested again by Oakland police on a warrant on July 12. Both his arrests involved human trafficking.
The victim describes Lewis as her boyfriend, and she oftentimes refers to him as her “daddy.” She told investigators that Lewis encouraged her to engage in prostitution and that he protected her.
Lewis remains behind bars at Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail. He was booked for human trafficking of a minor to engage in a commercial sex act (PC 236.1(C)(1)-F. He was also booked for pimping a minor PC 266H(B)-F and pandering by encouraging PC 2661(A)(2)-F.
Lewis was found in possession of suspected cocaine. Consequently, he was also booked for cocaine base for sale, and sale of a controlled substance. That’s in addition to grand theft exceeding $950.
The prostitution-related charges refer to a period between January through May of this year. Lewis is scheduled to appear August 8 for a pretrial hearing at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
