Couple enters not guilty pleas in human trafficking case; preliminary hearing set
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Lakeport couple accused of selling young women into prostitution has entered not guilty pleas in the case and will be up for preliminary hearing next week.
Sam Lindsey Massette, 37, and Krystina Marie Pickersgill, 27, were in Lake County Superior Court on Tuesday morning for the entry of pleas, according to District Attorney Don Anderson.
“They entered pleas of not guilty,” he said.
They are charged with felony counts of human trafficking, pimping and pandering, procuring for prostitution, and conspiring with other individuals whose identities are not yet known for the purposes of human trafficking, pimping and prostitution.
It’s also alleged that Massette has a prior serious felony conviction for a February 2002 vehicular manslaughter in which he ran over a 16-year-old during a San Francisco gang fight.
The couple will have their preliminary hearing on Wednesday, June 20, Anderson said.
Massette and Pickersgill were arrested on June 5 following a two-month-long investigation that began when a young woman who said they sold her into prostitution in the Bay Area approached Anderson at an April production of “Jane Doe in Wonderland,” a play about human trafficking.
That young woman is identified in court documents as “T.P.”
It’s alleged that from Sept. 21 to 30, 2017, she was taken by Massette and Pickersgill to San Francisco, where they rented a hotel room and hired her out as a prostitute over the course of two weekends, using Internet ads. Anderson said she later left under her own power.
While Massette and Pickersgill currently are only charged for “T.P.,” more charges are expected, Anderson said.
That’s because Anderson said the number of potential victims continues to grow, and his office continues to receive many calls about the case.
On Tuesday, he said there were about five or six victims, about twice the number he had cited the week the couple were arrested.
“They’re coming forward all over the place,” he said of the newest group of possible victims.
He added, “I anticipate other charges being filed fairly soon” – possibly by the end of this week.
Anderson said he and his staff are hearing from parents about how people have attempted to lure their children, and students also are coming forward to share their stories.
“It seems like it getting a lot bigger than anyone anticipated,” he said.
Both Massette and Pickersgill remain in the Lake County Jail, with bail for each set at $1 million.
On Tuesday afternoon, Anderson spoke to the Board of Supervisors during budget hearings for the county’s 2018-19 recommended budget.
He told the board he didn’t yet know the extent of human trafficking but hoped to have a handle on it by the end of his term, which is up in January.
What he knows so far is that traffickers are seeking out 14-, 15- and 16-year-old girls for prostitution.
“It is my intent to formulate a human trafficking task force,” He said.
Anderson said that task force will begin with law enforcement and eventually expand to include representatives from social organizations and the county’s high schools.
Anyone with information about Massette or Pickersgill and attempts to lure young people into prostitution are encouraged to call the District Attorney’s Office at 707-263-2251.
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