Local authorities have accused a Los Angeles County woman of running a high-end residential brothel out of a home in Thousand Oaks.
The 35-year-old was arrested last month, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said Friday in a news release. On Nov. 5, she pleaded not guilty to one felony count of pimping, the court docket shows.
Sheriff’s officials said community tips launched an investigation in April into suspicious activity at a home in the 200 block of Camino Manzanas. The street, lined by single-family homes, is near Redwood Middle School. Detectives suspected the residence operated as a brothel, according to the release.
The suspect, said to be from the city of Monterey Park in Los Angeles County, doesn’t own the home, but lived at the location and allegedly conducted operations there, said sheriff’s Detective Michael Dixon in an email. The sheriff’s office is contracted to provide police services in Thousand Oaks.
Detectives served a search warrant at the site in November, where they contacted the suspect. They found evidence she benefitted financially from employees who provided commercial sex acts at the residence, the release said.
They also contacted two women from the San Gabriel Valley believed to be Chinese nationals, age 36 and 45, who were potential human trafficking victims. The women were offered support from local victim services providers.
The suspect was released from custody on $20,000 bail after her arrest, according to the sheriff’s office. The next court hearing is scheduled for February.
Also in November, sheriff’s officials arrested a Yorba Linda woman, 45, suspected of operating brothels disguised as skin care spas. Two were in Thousand Oaks and two in Orange County. She has pleaded not guilty to felony pimping, pandering and money laundering charges. The case remains active in Ventura County Superior court.
The sheriff’s special crimes unit, which was involved in both investigations, includes human trafficking detectives who are part of a multiagency county task force.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: High-end brothel allegedly operated out of Thousand Oaks home
