A Los Angeles man has been charged in federal court on allegations that he kidnapped a woman, raped her and forced her to work for him as a prostitute.
Leslie Anthony Bailey, 32, was arraigned Friday afternoon in Santa Ana on a five-count federal grand jury indictment, according to the United States Department of Justice.
Bailey was arrested Thursday by special agents with the Department of Homeland Security and members of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force.
Authorities say Bailey, who lives on a boat docked in the South Bay of Los Angeles, has been charged with sex trafficking, kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse and two counts of using a cellphone to operate a prostitution business.
He is accused of kidnapping a woman on Feb. 5, 2022, holding her for several days against her will and forcing her to engage in “at least one commercial sex act,” according to the criminal complaint.
He continued to hold the woman captive for several days, eventually driving her to the Angeles National Forest where he allegedly raped her by use of force and threatened to kill her.
Bailey was identified as the suspect in the attack and arrested Thursday, one day after the federal indictment was returned, the DOJ said. He had previously been arrested in March 2022 by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, although it’s unclear what transpired between then and now.
United States Attorney Martin Estrada called Bailey a sex trafficker who preys upon “vulnerable people, turning their misery into profits.”
“This defendant is charged with using threats, coercion and physical violence to control his victim,” Estrada said. “We are committed to fighting human trafficking and bringing perpetrators to justice.”
As part of the five-count indictment, Bailey is also accused of using a “facility of interstate commerce,” aka cell phone, to pimp out the victim and collect the profits from her forced prostitution. An additional charge was also filed regarding a second victim whom Bailey allegedly pimped out using a cell phone between March 7 and April 25, 2023, the DOJ said.
Each sex trafficking offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a potential sentence of life in prison. Both the kidnapping and aggravated sexual abuse charges carry the same potential sentence of life in prison. The two counts related to the use of the cell phone carry up to five years in federal prison.
Eddy Wang, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said his office would “hold these predators accountable and will provide victims with a pathway towards restorative justice.”